On May 8, 2020, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced an August 4, 2020, deadline for federal contractors and subcontractors to implement a new disability self-identification form to use when soliciting disability status from applicants and employees.
In an effort to facilitate response efforts for COVID-19, Director Craig Leen of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced that it is issuing a national interest exemption on March 17, 2020, to new supply and service and construction contracts entered into from March 17, 2020, through June 17, 2020.
On October 11, 2019, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published to its website the long-awaited Educational Institutions Technical Assistance Guide (TAG).
On October 3, 2019, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published a notice in the Federal Register proposing changes to the required voluntary self-identification form that all federal contractors and subcontractors use when soliciting disability status from applicants and employees.
Alabama became the 49th state to adopt equal pay legislation when Governor Kay Ivey signed the Clarke-Figures Equal Pay Act (CFEPA) on June 11, 2019. The CFEPA, effective September 1, 2019, prohibits an employer from paying an employee less than another employee of a different race or sex for equal work.
On August 15, 2019, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) added a question and answer to its list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) addressing, among other things, a growing concern for many employers: how to report employees who identify as nonbinary in the EEO-1 Component 2 report.
On August 2, 2019, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs announced the release of its new compliance assistance guides.
On June 11, 2019, Governor Kay Ivey signed Alabama House Bill 225, making Alabama the 49th state to adopt equal pay legislation. The act prohibits an employer from paying an employee a lower wage rate than an employee of another race or sex for equal work in the same establishment, where job performance requires “equal skill, effort, education, experience, and responsibility” and occurs “under similar working conditions.”
Federal law already prohibits employers from paying an employee less than employees of another sex for equal work, unless the employer bases the wage difference on statutorily defined factors. Alabama and Mississippi were the only two states without corresponding state-specific laws until Representative Adline Clarke, D-Mobile, introduced Alabama House Bill 225 on March 19, 2019.
On March 27, 2019, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA) hiring benchmark for 2019.
On March 25, 2019, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published a list of contractors and subcontractors identified for a potential compliance evaluation in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 (which will end on September 30, 2019) on its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Library. The FY 2019 Corporate Scheduling Announcement Letter (CSAL) List is the first to be posted exclusively online, rather than sent through the United States mail.
On March 8, 2019, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced that it has published a landing page containing information about Section 503 focused reviews.
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently held two town-hall meetings to discuss compliance issues relevant to federal contractors and subcontractors in the technology sector.
On February 22, 2019, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced that it is on schedule to post its next Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL) in March 2019.
In August 2018, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued Directive 2018-04, which notified contractors that it was “in the process of implementing a comprehensive initiative that seeks to ensure compliance with equal employment opportunity and anti-discrimination regulations.”
On November 20, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced plans to assist those affected by the California wildfires. The DOL’s actions include relief efforts by a number of agencies.
In an unprecedented move, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) on September 19, 2018, published a list of contractors that received corporate scheduling announcement letters (CSALs) in 2017 and 2018 to its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Library.
The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C. could impact your business.
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued two more directives on September 18, 2018, promising transparency and communication with contractors.
The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C. could impact your business.
On Friday September 7, 2018, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) mailed 750 corporate scheduling announcement letters (CSALs) to federal contractors and subcontractors.
On August 24, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued three directives, including Directive 2018-07, Affirmative Action Program Verification Initiative, which aims at ensuring covered contractors are annually preparing and implementing written affirmative action programs (AAPs). This directive could have a wide-ranging impact on covered contractors, especially those that encounter challenges in preparing written AAPs annually.
In keeping with the theme of recognition that Acting Director Craig Leen shared earlier in August at the 2018 National Industry Liaison Group (NILG) conference, on August 24, 2018, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued Directive 2018-06, “Contractor Recognition Program.”
On March 30, 2018, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) hiring benchmark for 2018.
On February 1, 2018, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) mailed 1,000 corporate scheduling announcement letters (CSALs) to federal contractors and subcontractors. CSALs are sent to service and supply contractors to provide them with advance notice that they may be selected for an OFCCP compliance review.
The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C. could impact your business.
On August 29, 2017, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Acting Chair Victoria A. Lipnic announced that the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) had sent her a memo indicating that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) “is initiating a review and immediate stay of the effectiveness of the pay data collection aspects of the EEO-1 form that was revised on September 29, 2016.”
On July 14, 2017, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) reminded all contractors and employers covered by the agency’s nondiscrimination and EEO laws of their posting obligations.
There is no doubt that pay equity and pay data have both been a major focus of the federal government enforcement agenda during the Obama administration. While we wait to see if and how the Trump administration will address equal pay enforcement, several states continue to advance measures on pay equity. For example, Texas is considering a pay equity bill prohibiting employers from asking about an applicant’s wage history. Earlier this week, on January 9, 2017, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed two executive orders “to put New York on the fast track to eliminate the wage gap.” The executive orders, which Governor Cuomo signed as part of his 12th proposal of the 2017 State of the State Agenda, prevent employers from asking applicants about their salary histories and require certain government contracts to include data on employees’ job titles and salaries.
On July 1, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) renewed the Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing for three years. As a result, as of July 1, OFCCP will begin using the renewed letter to initiate compliance evaluations of nonconstruction supply and service government contractors. The last time OFCCP had released a revised scheduling letter and itemized listing was in October of 2014.
