EEO Compliance & Analytics
For over 30 years, McGuireWoods attorneys have defended employers against systemic employment discrimination claims and advised clients in privileged risk assessments across industries, including technology, financial services, energy, transportation, manufacturing, retail, petroleum and petrochemical, pharmaceuticals, consumer products, real estate, defense, healthcare, food production and education.
We have extensive experience with critical technical aspects of such matters, including class certification, Daubert motions, statistical evidence of discrimination, and job analysis and selection procedure validation. We work with consulting and testifying expert statisticians, labor economists, industrial/organizational psychologists and other experts in such matters.
Drawing on our litigation defense experience, we provide privileged legal risk assessments of clients’ employment practices to mitigate the risk of systemic employment discrimination and class-based equal employment opportunity (EEO) claims and enforcement actions. Our assessments encompass the full spectrum of employment practices that could be challenged, such as compensation, RIFs and employee selection procedures, including employment tests and AI applications.
Our experience also includes assisting clients with EEO data submissions and EEO certifications to federal, state and local enforcement agencies. These include risk review and development of pay data submissions and certifications under state equal pay laws; risk review and compliance with state and local pay transparency laws; risk review and compliance with federal, state and local laws addressing AI applications used for employment purposes; DEI risk reviews related to certification under EO 14173; and compliance with federal, state and local affirmative action requirements, such as those under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, covering individuals with disabilities, and the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act, covering protected veterans.
Lawyers on our systemic employment discrimination team understand the complex law and application of the attorney-client privilege and the attorney work product doctrine, implementing significant precautions to protect our risk assessment advice. We also counsel clients on communications regarding their EEO posture, such as those related to shareholder inquiries and proposals.
McGuireWoods attorneys regularly defend employers against claims of systemic employment discrimination in private class and collective actions, and defend clients in enforcement actions by the EEOC and other government agencies under federal, state and local anti-discrimination laws and regulations. We draw on our deep litigation experience when conducting privileged risk assessments that help employers understand and manage their risk profiles through collaborative discussions that result in practical recommendations.
