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Laura Mitchell is a principal in the Denver office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and leads the firm’s Workplace Analytics and Preventive Strategies Pay Equity subgroup. She partners with employers to evaluate, develop and implement policies and practices that ensure workplace fairness while mitigating legal risk. Laura is a guiding force in the firm’s most specialized and technical practice areas where she leverages an analytics-focused approach to partner with her clients in building legally compliant programs around which they can anchor their workplaces achieving productivity and stability.

Laura understands that creating a competitive advantage for employers in today’s workplace involves using a data-driven approach to counsel companies on the development of proactive and equitable non-discriminatory practices in hiring, promotions, separations and pay—and where advancements in technology can create both opportunities for efficiencies and risk that can be measured. Committed to putting her clients’ organizational goals first and foremost while balancing legal risk, Laura views herself as an extension of her clients’ team, responsible for providing proactive guidance and engaging in transparent, ongoing communication. Staying the course with employers across their organizational journey while balancing legal compliance obligations throughout their employees’ lifecycle ensures Laura’s position as a go-to resource.

Laura works with companies across all industries—both new and well-established multi-national organizations of all sizes—to realize the combined vision of legal compliance, increased productivity and economic growth enhanced by a focus on pay equity.  As part of the pay equity journey, she advises employers on the evolving pay transparency landscape, working to align compliant practices with the practical realities of the business world.

Laura partners closely with government contractors to understand, implement and demonstrate compliance with their EEO regulatory and compliance obligations. She also works closely with non-government contractor clients to conduct risk assessments of their programs, policies, and training to align with federal and state anti-discrimination requirements.

On November 2, 2020, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employments’ Division of Labor Standards and Statistics held a public hearing to solicit comments about Colorado’s proposed Equal Pay Transparency Rules.  The proposed rules will implement Colorado’s New Equal Pay for Equal Work law that goes into effect January 1, 2021.  The hearing focused on

On September 29, 2020, The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment published proposed Equal Pay Transparency Rules (“EPT Rules”) providing guidance for implementation of the state’s new Equal Pay for Equal Work Law set to go into effect January 1, 2021.  They also published a corresponding Statement of Basis, Purpose, Specific Statutory Authority and Findings

In the next chapter of the EEO pay data collection story, the EEOC announced today it has contracted with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) to, “conduct an independent assessment of the quality and utility of the EEO-1 Component 2 data for FY 2017 and 2018.”

This is

It seems the end has finally come for at least one part of the pay data reporting story.  On Monday, February 10, Judge Chutkan ordered the EEO-1 Component 2 pay data reporting portal closed.  The closing of the portal signals the end of the required collection of pay data for 2017 and 2018 from eligible

EEOC has filed another Motion with the court seeking an Order deeming Component 2 pay data collection complete.  In its most recent filing, EEOC requests the Court to revisit its previous decision and deem the collection obligation satisfied or, in the alternative, provide clarification “regarding the response rate at which the Court will deem the

Despite its request to close the pay data reporting portal, Judge Chutkan has ordered EEOC to continue to keep the EEO-1 Component 2 Pay Data Reporting Portal open to allow more filers to submit their pay data.  The Order states, despite the acknowledged expense, that EEOC “must continue to take all steps necessary to complete

In the next chapter of the pay data reporting saga, the EEOC has filed a Motion with the court seeking an order “determining that the EEO-1 Component 2 data collection is deemed complete.”  The EEOC is reporting that, “as October 8, 2019, 75.9% of eligible filers had submitted Component 2 data.”

Please find the rest

In its most recent required status report to the court, filed September 27, 2019, the EEOC reports:

“[s]o long as the Court’s order is in effect stating that the collection will not be complete until it reaches what the Court has determined to be the target response rate, the EEOC will continue to accept Component