On April 28, 2016, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) approved the Depart of Labor’s revised directive regarding Functional Affirmative Action Programs (“FAAP”). The revised directive amends the procedures for applying for a FAAP and clarifies the obligations that apply to contractors with approved FAAP Agreements. The revised
OFCCP recently updated its Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) on the implementation of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (“VEVRAA”) and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act final rules. The most recent FAQs address questions regarding the availability of the “EEO is the Law” poster, the ability to use human resource information systems as the data analysis file for self-identification records, and acceptable language for Equal Opportunity clauses.
On December 17, 2013, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) published additional Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) on the implementation of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (“VEVRAA”) and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act final rules.
As discussed in prior Government Contractor Compliance &
Today, the OFCCP’s new regulations interpreting Section 503 and VEVRAA were published in the Federal Register. The rules can be found here and here. Publication in the Federal Register sets the effective date for the rules as March 24, 2014. As previously discussed, contractors should start planning the implementation of the compliance requirements imposed by the new regulations.
Research published by the Center for Corporate Equality (CCE), a Washington, D.C. research organization, reveals that the number of OFCCP audits resulting in a conciliation agreement has risen sharply under the Obama administration.
CCE compiled information from the Labor Department’s enforcement database as well as documents obtained through Freedom of Information. Their research revealed that, during the Bush administration, only approximately 8 percent of all OFCCP audits ended in a conciliation agreement. By contrast, the average during the Obama administration so far is close to 21 percent. Findings of discrimination overall did not increase significantly during this period. Between 2004 and 2008, the second term of Bush’s administration, 1.58 percent of all compliance evaluations resulted in a finding of discrimination, compared to 2.27 percent under the Obama administration so far—a rise of just 0.7 percent.
On May 15, 2013, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) announced that covered federal contractors will have until January 1, 2014 to start using 2010 Census data for determining availability when preparing annual affirmative action plans.
Contractors may continue to use the “old” census data (the Census 2000