Chris Near is an attorney in the Columbia, South Carolina office of Ogletree Deakins and a member of the firm’s Affirmative Action/OFCCP Compliance Practice Group, whose experienced attorneys counsel and defend federal contractors and subcontractors throughout the United States on jurisdictional, compliance, and enforcement issues involving the United States Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).
Chris works with in-house counsel and human resources professionals of contractors and subcontractors in all types of industries across the country to offer practical advice and solutions to compliance issues that companies are faced with on a daily basis, including outreach and recruitment efforts, hiring, compensation, promotions, and terminations. He also advises on subjects related to contractor’s affirmative action programs, including jurisdictional analyses, recordkeeping issues, and privileged proactive statistical analyses of employment matters. Chris regularly provides legal representation during OFCCP compliance reviews and complaints, as well as offers strategic advice in addressing claims of systemic discrimination or other alleged regulatory or statutory violations.
Prior to focusing his practice on affirmative action compliance, 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.
