The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs — the agency charged with prohibiting discrimination by firms that contract with the federal government — announced three new directives last week [1]. The new directives are part of the department’s efforts to maximize the effectiveness of compliance assistance outreach, the agency announced.
Directive 2018-05. The first is aimed at clarifying the office’s approach to compensation evaluations of employees [2]. Believing that prior guidance was unclear, the OFCCP said “fulsome guidance will further support contractors’ ability to conduct meaningful self-audits so that they can proactively identify and address issues with their compensation practices.”
Directive 2018-06. Another is the establishment of a contractor recognition program [3] to highlight those with high-quality and high-performing compliance programs and initiatives.
Directive 2018-07. Finally, the agency is establishing of a program for verifying compliance by all contractors [4] with “Affirmative Action Program” requirements. The office reported that federal contractors must develop an Affirmative Action Program within 120 days of the commencement of their contracts. However, the office cited a 2016 report that found almost 85% of contract companies did not submit a written plan within 30 days of receiving a scheduling letter for a compliance evaluation.
For more, see this post on JD Supra [5] by law firm Constangy, Brooks, Smith and Prophete LLP.