United States 
Canada (EN) 
México 
France 
Deutschland 
United Kingdom 
Chris Near is a shareholder in the Columbia, South Carolina office of Ogletree Deakins. He practices throughout the United States as a strategic, yet practical, advisor to and advocate for, large and small companies, including contractors and subcontractors who do business with federal and state governments.
Chris regularly provides straightforward, realistic, and pragmatic advice and solutions to issues that companies often face on a daily basis, including:
- All aspects of statutory and regulatory equal employment opportunity (EEO) and OFCCP obligations, including those under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Act of 1974 (such as outreach and recruitment efforts, assessments and evaluations, policies, website postings and taglines, recordkeeping, accommodations, and internal company processes related to applicants, hires, promotions, terminations, compensation, or any other area of employment);
- Guidance on annual Affirmative Action Programs (AAPs) that may be required for individuals with disabilities, protected veterans, or by individual states;
- Best practices for construction contractors;
- Company-focused training programs for employees and management officials;
- Designing and implementing voluntary, proactive, and privileged plans for gathering and analyzing workforce data; and
- Offering detail-oriented, practical advice and solutions to complex applicant-hire processes, including best practices for the dispositioning of candidates and those involving large amounts of data.
As part of a skilled Ogletree team who counsels and defends contractors nationwide on jurisdictional, compliance, and enforcement issues, including those involving the United States Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), Chris also leverages his experience to partner with companies to offer strategic guidance, representation, and legal defense, on a variety of matters, such as:
- Assessing contractual coverage and obligations—and if applicable, challenging jurisdiction or defending against claims of single entity status;
- Partnering with statisticians and outside vendors on data-specific compensation or hiring issues;
- Offering companies proactive guidance on compliance prior to the initiation of a compliance review, as well as working side-by-side with company officials (in-house counsel, human resources, talent acquisition, recruiters, and other members of management) to effectively and timely prepare strategic responses once a review begins;
- Preparing company officials for, and providing legal defense during, management interviews or virtual and in-person onsites;
- Working closely with companies to establish and carry out strategic plans for responding to alleged statutory or regulatory violations and/or claims of discrimination; and
- Negotiating conciliation agreements and guiding contractors through any post-settlement obligations.
Prior to focusing his practice on representing federal contractors and subcontractors, Chris spent more than a decade defending lawsuits and administrative complaints in state court, federal court, and various state and federal administrative agencies.
Chris is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University.
