OFCCP Proposes New Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing

In a move which will most certainly increase federal contractors’ compliance burden, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has requested approval from the Office of Management and Budget to authorize changes to OFCCP’s current Supply and Service scheduling letter and accompanying itemized listing of information to be submitted in compliance evaluations. 

Two scheduling letters are proposed. The first is a scheduling letter for a compliance check – requesting affirmative action program (AAP) results for the preceding year, examples of job advertisements, and examples of accommodations. The second letter will be used for a full compliance review. Highlights of the proposed amendments to this scheduling letter include:

• Notification to contractors that OFCCP will verify compliance with veterans’ reporting requirements (VETS-100A reports); and
  
  
• For the first time, provision of an OFCCP email address to which electronic desk audit submissions may be sent.

The most significant proposed changes, of course, occur on the itemized listing, now proposed to encompass 13 (instead of 11) required data submissions:

• Executive Order AAP analytical components;
  
  
• Copies of employment leave policies, including policies relating to family and medical leave, pregnancy leave, and accommodations for religious observances and practices.  If these policies are part of an employee handbook or manual, OFCCP requests these as well;
  
  
• A copy of applicable collective bargaining agreement(s), including any policies or handbooks that elaborate on the provisions of such documents;
  
  
• Information on affirmative action goals “for the immediately preceding AAP year” and progress on goals for the current AAP year;
  
  
• Data on employment activity (applicants, hires, promotions, and terminations) for the immediately preceding AAP year by job group and by job title;
  
  
• Applicant and hire data must be submitted by ethnicity (African American/Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and white – notably, not “Two or More”), and by gender.  Applicants whose ethnicity and/or gender is unknown must be included;
  
  
• Promotions must be submitted by job group and job title, by race/ethnicity (not just “minority/non-minority status”) and gender, and must include the actual pool of candidates who were considered for promotion;
  
  
• Terminations must be provided by job group and job title, by race/ethnicity and gender, and must include the actual pool of candidates who were considered for termination. OFCCP also would like contractors to identify if terminations are voluntary or involuntary;
  
  
• Compensation information must be provided for every employee as of the nearest February 1 to include race/ethnicity, gender, date of hire, job title, EEO-1 category, and job group (preferably in electronic form); and
  
  
• Support data for Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) will include copies of VETS-100/-100As for the last three years as well as accommodation policies and records of accommodations provided.

The current scheduling will expire on September 30, 2011. All of the proposed documents can be reviewed at www.regulations.gov.

Additional Information

Ogletree Deakins has an OFCCP practice group, which includes several attorneys throughout the United States who are available to answer your questions on this subject, or you may contact the Ogletree Deakins attorney with whom you normally work for additional information.

Note: This article was published in the May 16, 2011 issue of the Federal Contracting eAuthority.