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New York District EEOC SUES NORFOLK SOUTHERN FOR AGE DISCRIMINATION Rosemary DiSavino, Senior Trial Attorney, (973) 645-6430 Justin Mulaire, Supervisory Trial Attorney, (212) 336-3744 Michael Rojas, Outreach & Education Coordinator, (212) 336-3670                                                                                                                                                 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 26, 2016 EEOC SUES NORFOLK SOUTHERN FOR AGE DISCRIMINATION Railroad Failed to Hire Older Workers as Special Agents, Federal Agency Says NEW YORK, NY – Norfolk Southern Corporation, which operates a 20,000-mile freight railroad system in the eastern United States, violated federal law when it denied employment opportunities to qualified job applicants because of their age, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today. According to the lawsuit, the company preferred to hire individuals under the age of 52 for special agent positions in the railroad’s law enforcement and security detail because Norfolk Southern assumed older workers would retire soon after they were hired.  For example, one 56-year-old applicant was told that he would not advance in the hiring process because he was over the age of 52. The applicant had nearly 30 years of law enforcement experience and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. The alleged conduct violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibits age discrimination against people who are 40 or older. This includes screening out older job applicants based on the assumption that, because of their age, they are less committed to remaining in the workforce.  The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Norfolk Southern Corp., Civil Action No. 2:18-cv-14272) in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The lawsuit seeks lost wages, liquidated damages, and policy changes to prevent future age discrimination.  The agency’s litigation effort will be led by Trial Attorneys Rosemary DiSavino and Katie Linehan and supervised by Supervisory Trial Attorney Justin Mulaire. "Job seekers should be evaluated based on their qualifications, not their age,” said Jeffrey Burstein, Regional Attorney for the EEOC’s New York District Office. “Employers may not use age to judge an applicant’s abilities or commitment to a job.” Kevin Berry, District Director of the EEOC’s New York Office, said “The EEOC is committed to eradicating age discrimination and will keep fighting to ensure that older workers have the same opportunities for employment as other candidates, regardless of their age.” According to its website, Norfolk Southern has more than 27,000 employees and rail operations in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serving major ports on the East Coast, Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes, and numerous river ports. The EEOC’s New York District Office is responsible for processing discrimination charges, administrative enforcement, and the conduct of agency litigation in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Northern New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont.  The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin implementing the June 28 Updated Guidance for the Referral of Cases and Issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Deportable Aliens Policy Memorandum (PM) (PDF, 140 KB) on Oct. 1, 2018. USCIS will take an incremental approach to implement this memo. An NTA is a document that instructs an individual to appear before an immigration judge. This is the first step in starting removal proceedings. Starting Oct. 1, 2018, USCIS may issue NTAs on denied status-impacting applications, including but not limited to, Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, and Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status. USCIS will send denial letters for status-impacting applications that ensures benefit seekers are provided adequate notice when an application for a benefit is denied. If applicants are no longer in a period of authorized stay, and do not depart the United States, USCIS may issue an NTA. USCIS will provide details on how applicants can review information regarding their period of authorized stay, check travel compliance, or validate departure from the United States. The June 2018 NTA Policy Memo will not be implemented with respect to employment-based petitions and humanitarian applications and petitions at this time. Existing guidance for these case types will remain in effect. USCIS will continue to prioritize cases of individuals with criminal records, fraud, or national security concerns. There has been no change to the current processes for issuing NTAs on these case types, and USCIS will continue to use its discretion in issuing NTAs for these cases. USCIS is holding a public teleconference on Thursday, Sept. 27 from 2 - 3 p.m. Eastern to provide an overview of the PM and respond to pre-submitted questions. The teleconference will conclude with a question and answer session, as time permits. Additional information is available on the Upcoming National Engagements page. USCIS will provide updates and information on the implementation of this PM on the new Notice to Appear Policy Memorandum page. Get the latest news and updates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Partnerships Team Final Census Test Proves Successful The U.S. Census Bureau has nearly completed its 2018 Census Test in Providence, Rhode Island, the final large-scale test of 2020 Census operations, procedures, systems and field infrastructure. Results showed a slightly higher than expected self-response rate with 61.2% of self-responders using the internet, 7.5% using the telephone, and 31.3% responding via paper questionnaire.  Read More Keeping Your Data Safe Protecting the data the U.S. Census Bureau collects is a critical part of our mission and our highest priority. In a recent blog, Chief Information Officer Kevin Smith outlines what is being done to secure collected data, specifically for the 2020 Census. Read More Update on 2020 Census Preparations To manage 2020 Census Field Infrastructure, the U.S. Census Bureau is setting up six Regional Census Centers and 248 Area Census Offices. Regional Census Centers in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia are now operational, and lease awards have been granted to 110 Area Census Offices so far. Offices will begin to open in January. Learn More Income, Poverty & Health Insurance Coverage On Sept. 12, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that real median household income in the U.S. in 2017 increased by 1.8%, the official poverty rate decreased 0.4 percentage points, and the number of people without health insurance coverage and the uninsured rate were not statistically different from 2016.  Read More Libraries Get Ready for the 2020 Census  The 2020 Census will have repercussions for communities—and libraries—around the country. In a recent blog, the American Library Association highlights the benefits of library participation in Complete Count Committees.  Read More Recent Releases New American Community Survey Statistics for Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Available for States and Local Areas Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2017 U.S. Census Bureau Demonstrates Readiness for the 2020 Census Tip Sheet Number 19 — September 14, 2018 Upcoming Releases  Tip Sheet: Manufacturing Day Tip Sheet: 2017 State Government Finances Looking for 2020 Census resources?  Graphic: Counting Young Children in the 2020 Census About Census Partnerships From corporations to policymakers, foundations and non-profits to software developers, the U.S. Census Bureau partners across sectors and industries to help America work better through data. Together we harness the power of our data, support each other’s missions, and co-create solutions to increase data use and participation in Census surveys and programs, including the upcoming 2020 Census. Connect with the Census Partnerships Team at census.partners@census.gov to learn more.     September 26, 2018 Welcome to the future of DAU's Virtual Campus DAU’s new virtual campus is LIVE!  Students are encouraged to quickly complete online training enrolled in prior to September 23 in the legacy system (ATLAS Pro).  You will have 60 days to do so.   All new enrollments will be made in the new DAU virtual campus (Cornerstone OnDemand).  Learn more from DAU.  And review FAI’s FAQs about DAU’s new virtual campus.  Please refer to www.fai.gov for updates regarding availability! Labor Exemptions Available for Hurricane Florence Acquisitions In light of destruction caused by Hurricane Florence, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has issued a temporary exemption from certain federal contracting requirements related to equal opportunity for contracts supporting Hurricane Florence relief. In short, OFCCP’s memo provides draft fill-in text for the existing FAR clauses (note, you are using the Alt I version of the FAR clauses).  Read more about the exemption issued by OFCCP. Free Classroom Training in Washington, DC, is Here!! FAI is pleased to announce a fabulous array of free FAC-C and FAC-COR classroom training in metropolitan Washington, DC, for FY2019. There is no tuition cost charged to students or their agencies for this training. Review the schedule and enroll in these classes as soon as you can. Seats will fill quickly. Want to help your organization? Join us in a virtual conference as we celebrate the launch of Acquisition Open Opportunities! The “Acquisition Open Opportunities Summit: Endless Possibilities” will be kicked off by Lesley A. Field, Deputy Administrator, OFPP on Thursday, October 11, 2018, 1:00 p.m.- 3:00 p.m ET. During this virtual conference, you will hear success stories from Acquisition Open Opportunities participants.  Sign up to learn how this platform can help your organization!  “See” you there!  For more information on Open Opportunities, visit here. New Pricing Info and Features Added to CALC The powerful Contract Awarded Labor Categories (CALC) digital tool recently added another 3,600 labor categories and the ability to search by company name or contract number. These additions make CALC an even more robust resource for contracting officers allowing them to conduct market research and price analysis on over 65,000 labor categories across several GSA Schedules. New FedPM CoP and COR CoP Resources Available Both the FedPM CoP and the COR CoP have met recently. Don't miss out – register for the FedPM CoP and issue-specific working groups at the FedPM CoP homepage, and visit the FedPM CoP Blog for slides and recordings. Do you have something that you would like to see featured in Acquisition Today that is appropriate to be shared across the government-wide acquisition workforce community,  or general feedback?  Please email us at contact@fai.gov.  Click here for news article submission.