Women were paid between 2 percent and 4 percent less than men at five of six Energy Department laboratories, and minorities were paid about 2 percent less than whites at one lab, according to a review by the Government Accountability Office.
For fiscal 2001 through mid-2004, GAO found statistically significant differences in salaries and merit pay raises for managerial and professional women and minorities when compared with men and whites, the congressional watchdog agency said in a report sent to Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), who chairs the House science subcommittee on energy.
 
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GAO said the statistical comparisons should not be taken as a sign of discrimination but "may indicate a need for further investigation into their practical significance."
The Energy Department, in a letter accompanying the report, challenged the methodology used by GAO, saying it "leads us to question the accuracy of the GAO analysis."
The department and its contractors "take very seriously" equal employment opportunity laws and rules that ban consideration of race, religion, sex or national origin as a condition of employment, the letter said.
GAO recommended that the Energy Department work with the Labor Department's office of federal contract compliance to resolve EEO oversight issues.
About 90 percent of Energy's annual budget is spent on contracts, and, as part of its contract costs, the department can reimburse its contractors for EEO litigation costs. Since fiscal 1998, the department has approved nearly $57 million in reimbursements to its contractors because of EEO lawsuits, GAO said.
The six labs in the GAO review -- Argonne, Brookhaven, Lawrence Berkeley, Oak Ridge, Pacific Northwest and Idaho -- are managed and operated by contractors. About 21,000 people work at the labs, which perform scientific and environmental remediation work.
In interviews with employee groups and in reviews of staff surveys, GAO said, it found women and minorities expressed concerns in three areas: under-representation in science and management positions, lack of career development opportunities and "a laboratory work environment that needs improvement."
Some of the employees had filed complaints alleging harassment, sexual harassment and instances of "offensive comments, materials and actions," GAO said.
In general, GAO said, women tended to receive lower salaries than men, while salaries for minorities were usually equal to those of whites. But at one lab -- Lawrence Berkeley in California -- minorities were paid less than whites.
In reviewing merit pay raises at the labs, GAO said the raises for women and minorities tended to be comparable to those given to their male and white counterparts at three of the labs, while results were mixed at the other three labs.
Among those three, merit raises were higher for women and minorities at one lab, higher for women at another and lower for minorities at the third, compared with men and whites, GAO said.
For the most part, women and minorities tended to leave their jobs at rates comparable to men and whites, GAO said. Still, at one lab, women were more likely to leave than men, and at another, minorities were more likely to leave than whites.
Postmasters Rally
More than 1,100 members of the National Association of Postmasters will visit Capitol Hill this week to encourage congressional support for the U.S. Postal Service. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), who chair committees that oversee the Postal Service, are scheduled to join the group Wednesday to discuss postal legislation pending before Congress. Association President Wally Olihovik will moderate the session.
Award Winners
John M. Palguta, vice president for policy and research at the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, has been honored with the 2005 Outstanding Service to the Public Sector Human Resource Profession Award, presented at the 66th national conference of the American Society for Public Administration.
Paul Posner, managing director of the federal budget and intergovernmental relations group at the Government Accountability Office, will be presented with the James Blum Award on Wednesday by the American Association for Budget and Program Analysis.
E-mail: barrs@washpost.com
