Photo of Laura A. Mitchell

As co-leader of the firm’s ESG group, Laura Mitchell partners with her clients to evaluate, set, achieve and monitor their organizational culture and human capital goals. She focuses her practice on data analytics, including pay equity and other employee analytics, working side-by-side with employers to build programs that benefit employees and create a stable, high-functioning workplace. Understanding that an inclusive, values-based culture provides a crucial competitive advantage in the modern workplace, Laura enjoys counseling companies on the development of proactive and equitable pay and diversity practices.

In Laura’s version of the reimagined workplace, attention to human capital issues, especially DEI and pay equity, would be the rule rather than the exception nationwide and she works with companies across all industries—both new and well-established multi-national organizations of all sizes—to realize this vision for her clients’ ongoing success. She helps clients understand all issues across the spectrum of their journey, helping to establish regular analyses as well as counseling organizations on implementation and compliance obligations, where applicable. Committed to putting her clients’ organizational goals first and foremost, Laura views herself as an extension of her clients’ team, responsible for providing proactive guidance and engaging in transparent, ongoing communication.

Laura also represents companies in OFCCP matters, preparing for and defending OFCCP audits, and counseling employers on issues stemming from OFCCP regulations. She personally oversees the development of hundreds of Affirmative Action Plans for clients each year and is intimately involved in the defense of OFCCP audits. Her approach to compliance is one of facilitation and conciliation while simultaneously advocating in the best interests of her clients.

In an update to our post more than a year ago about the National Association of Manufactures’ legal challenge to the posting requirements under Executive Order 13496, a federal district court in Washington, D.C. has rejected NAM’s constitutional challenge to President Barack Obama’s 2010 Executive Order requiring certain federal contractors to post a “Notification

April 14, 2015 has been identified as National Equal Pay Day – the day which symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year.

President Obama has made fighting pay discrimination a top priority of his Civil Rights Agenda. He has recently taken several executive actions

In light of this week’s Supreme Court decision in Young v. United Parcel Service addressing the issue of accommodations and pregnancy discrimination, OFCCP has extended the public comment period for the Agency’s Sex Discrimination Regulation Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.  The public comment period now closes April 14, 2015.

By extending the comment period by

This week OFCCP hosted Webinars on federal contractor obligations with respect to sexual orientation and gender identity under Executive Order 13672.

During the training OFCCP reiterated the following requirements:

  • Contractors are to use the updated EO Clause including sexual orientation and gender identity if the entire EO Clause is incorporated into covered purchase orders

Today, the congressional Subcommittees on Workforce Protections and Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions heard testimony in connection with Executive Order 13673 – Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces, signed in July 2014 by President Obama.

This Executive Order requires contracting agencies to take into account violations of 14 Federal statues (and equivalent state laws) when