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Westat

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Westat
Company typeEmployee-owned
FoundedRockville, Maryland (1963)
HeadquartersRockville, Maryland
Key people
James E. Smith (President and CEO) Graham Kalton (Chairman of the Board)
ProductsWesVar®, Blaise®
Revenue495.9 million USD (FY2013)[1]
Websitewww.westat.com

Westat is an employee-owned statistical survey research corporation in Rockville, Maryland, providing research services to agencies of the U.S. Government, as well as businesses, foundations, and state and local governments.

History

Westat Inc. began as a partnership in 1961 with cofounders Edward C. Bryant, Ph.D., a tenured full professor of statistics at the University of Wyoming, and two former students, James Daley and Donald King. In 1963, the company was incorporated. Dr. Bryant served as Westat’s first President until 1978, when Joseph Hunt took over as President and CEO for the next 32 years. In May 2011, James E. Smith, Ph.D., became President [2] and CEO of the company.

In September 2014,Westat entered into a conciliation agreement with the OFCCP) to resolve issues, including record keeping and statistical shortfalls in hiring for certain jobs, identified during a routine audit of the company’s affirmative action programs for 2008-2009. There was no OFCCP finding of intentional discrimination on Westat’s part. The agreement requires payment of a monetary settlement which has been completed, hiring goals which have already been met, and a two-year reporting period, ending in September 2016, with which the company is in full compliance. Westat has also taken substantial steps to correct the reporting practices that led to the complaint and remains fully committed to equal opportunity employment and its affirmative action programs.

Research activities

Westat conducts studies on health conditions and expenditures,[3][4] academic achievement and literacy,[5][6] medical treatments and outcomes,[7][8][9] exposure assessments,[10] program evaluation,[11][12][13] information management and communications solutions,[14][15] and respondent knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.[16] It supports two software packages, WesVar and Blaise. The former is a variance estimation software while the latter is a survey processing system.[17]

Employee ownership

The firm is employee-owned. All employees can earn a share of ownership through the Westat Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Since the introduction of the plan in 1977, the value of employee holdings has grown.[18]

Employment Discrimination

Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs discovered, during a scheduled audit of the company systems in 2014, that Westat systematically discriminated against 638 women applicants, 2,153 African American applicants, 825 Asian American applicants, and 35 Hispanic job applicants for research analyst, programmer analyst, telephone data collector, survey process, and field data collector positions, between Oct. 1, 2008, and Sept. 30, 2009.[19][20]

According to the OFCCP, under the terms of the settlement, Westat agreed to pay $1,500,000 in back wages and interest to all affected applicants, make 113 job offers to the original class members as positions become available, preserve and maintain all employment records, correct record-keeping violations, conduct internal audits, and perform outreach and positive recruitment activities.[20]

References

  1. ^ "The 2013 Honomichl Top 50 Report" (PDF).
  2. ^ Smith leads Rockville’s Westat with a head for numbers and people Retrieved 2015-02-24.
  3. ^ Survey Field Staff - NHANES Retrieved 2010-08-11.
  4. ^ Study: Diabetes self-management portal yields promising results Retrieved 2011-03-16.
  5. ^ Mary Ann Zehr, December 10, 2009. What Kinds of Schools Are Most Likely to Teach Foreign Languages? Education Week. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  6. ^ Jay Mathews, July 19, 2010. Better data needed to accurately rate school systems. Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
  7. ^ Center Watch Clinical Trials Provider Profile Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  8. ^ September 1, 2009. Innovative therapies for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. Science Codex. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
  9. ^ November 4, 2010. Lung cancer trial results show mortality benefit with low-dose CT. National Cancer Institute. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
  10. ^ NICHD Announces Contracts to First Research Centers for Planned National Children's Study NICHD Website. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  11. ^ Ryan Grim, September 7, 2006.A White House Drug Deal Gone Bad Slate. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
  12. ^ Ryan Grim, September 7, 2006.Evaluation of the Office on National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign - Reports NIDA Website. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  13. ^ Head Start Impact Study. Final Report. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
  14. ^ Westat, Inc. Wins $1.09 Million Federal Contract. Bloomberg Business Week. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  15. ^ Wham! Pow! The CDC Goes to Comic-Con. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
  16. ^ William H. McMichael, July 8, 2010. Pentagon sends out survey on gay troops. Army Times. Retrieved 2010-08-03
  17. ^ Westat USA is the distributor of the Blaise system for North, Central and South America. Blaise Contact Information. Retrieved 2010-08-03
  18. ^ Westat Website: Benefits Retrieved 2015-02-24.
  19. ^ Marshall, Ryan (12 September 2014). "Rockville company pays $1.5M in discrimination claim". Rockville Gazette. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  20. ^ a b McGinnis, Laura; Trupo, Michael. "OFCCP News Release: 09/10/2014; Data mining giant Westat to pay $1.5M to settle discrimination case with US Labor Department". Department of Labor. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
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