Oracle Sues Department of Labor to End Obama-Era Lawsuit

Oracle filed a lawsuit against the Department of Labor (DOL) Wednesday, challenging an Obama-era decision that held Oracle had discriminated against women and minorities.

Oracle filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District in Washington, D.C., challenging the legality of the adjudication established by the DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCCP) for discrimination claims against government contractors, according to a press release obtained by Breitbart News. Oracle alleged Congress nor the president had authorized this system and usurped the role of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The technology company alleged that, under the current system, claims under government contractors are not prosecuted under federal courts. Instead, they argued, the DOL “serves as investigator, prosecutor, judge, jury, and appellate court, usurping the role of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Department of Justice and the Courts.”

Ken Glueck, executive vice president of Oracle, said, “Oracle filed this case because it is being subjected to an unlawful enforcement action by the Labor Department utilizing a process with no statutory foundation whatsoever.”

Right before former President Barack Obama left office, his Department of Labor sued Oracle for allegedly discriminating against government contractors. The lawsuit originated from a routine audit of Oracle’s hiring and pay in 2014. The Obama-era complaint alleged that the company had discriminated against “qualified” blacks, Asians, and women in “product development roles” by paying them less than their white counterparts. The Obama-era DOL also claimed Oracle discriminated against blacks, Hispanics, and whites in favor of Asian applicants in two other positions, meaning that Oracle had allegedly discriminated against and in favor of Asians.

One Wall Street Journal op-ed wondered why President Donald Trump’s Labor Secretary, Alexander Acosta, “would continue his predecessor’s depredations that seek to dictate how businesses manage their workforces and rewrite civil-rights and labor law according to the left’s identity politics.”

Now Eugune Scalia is running the DOL he could have the opportunity to the Obama-era lawsuit against Oracle.

“It is apparent that neither Solicitor of Labor Kate O’Scannlain nor OFCCP Director Craig Leen is prepared to move back to a system where merits trump optics,” Glueck said. “Oracle brings this suit because the leadership at the Department of Labor has failed to restore balance to an unrestrained bureaucracy.”

“We believe strongly in maintaining a level playing field in the workplace for all our employees and remain proud of our firm commitment to equality in our workforce. This lawsuit seeks to ensure that employers such as Oracle are likewise entitled to a level playing field when the government asserts claims of discrimination,” he added.

“This has not been the case with the OFCCP, resulting in enforcement actions that are meritless and defamatory to Oracle, its executives, and other government contractors,” Glueck concluded in his statement.