OFCCP

OFCCP is Updating Its Rules on Compliance Evaluations

Robert C. Lockwood
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OFCCP is proposing to clarify its standards for compliance evaluations.

The United States Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) is updating its rules for evaluating compliance by federal government contractors with equal employment opportunity laws.  On December 27, 2019, OFCCP issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (“NPRM”), which can be found here:  OFCCP NPRM.  According to a Press Release, the purpose of the NPRM is to “provide federal contractors with greater certainty and transparency about the procedures that OFCCP follows during compliance evaluations to resolve employment discrimination and other material violations.”

This is good news for federal contractors because the new rules will make some aspects of an OFCCP compliance evaluation mandatory.  Typically, evaluation procedures are guided by OFCCP’s Federal Contract Compliance Manual (“FCCM”).  Yet, the agency makes clear that the FCCM “does not establish substantive agency policy.”  In other words, OFCCP can depart from the FCCM without violating the law.  The FCCM can be found here.

The proposed rule making clarifies the circumstances in which OFCCP will issue  a Predetermination Notice (PDN) of discrimination to contractors.  If OFCCP finds an employment or compensation disparity during a compliance evaluation, it will determine:  (1) if that disparity is “both practically and statistically significant”; and, (2) where relevant, whether nonstatistical evidence demonstrates an intent to discriminate.  If OFCCP cannot corroborate statistical evidence with nonstatistical evidence, it will issue a PDN only where the statistical evidence is significant at a confidence level of 99% or higher, which equates to three or more standard deviations. Currently, OFCCP pursues compensation audits based solely on statistically-significant disparities below this threshold.

So, the NPRM is good for employers because it limits the circumstances in which OFCCP will rely solely upon statistical evidence to make a predetermination finding of potential discrimination.  But, the NPRM also clarifies the types of nonstatistical evidence OFCCP will rely upon to bolster statistics that, on their own, would not warrant a PDN.

Nonstatistical evidence may include testimony about biased statements, remarks, attitudes, or acts based upon membership in a protected class; differential treatment through review of comparators, cohorts, or summary data reflecting differential selections, compensation and/or qualifications; testimony about individuals denied or given misleading or contradictory information about employment or compensation practices; testimony about the extent of discretion or subjectivity involved in making employment decisions; or other anecdotal or supporting evidence.

This portion of the NPRM is not as favorable for contractors. It provides no standards on how OFCCP will weigh any particular type of nonstatistical evidence.  Moreover, by including “discretion or subjectivity” in its definition of nonstatistical evidence, OFCCP is implicating the vast majority of employment decisions.  Almost every hiring or promotion decision relies, in some part, on discretion or subjectivity by the decision maker.

If OFCCP issues a PDN to a contractor, the contractor must respond within 15 calendar days unless OFCCP grants an extension “for good cause.”  That is a short window to respond.  If the contractor does not respond or provide a “sufficient response,” OFCCP may issue a Notice of Violation (NOV).  If OFCCP issues a NOV, it may offer the contractor the opportunity to enter into a conciliation agreement. That agreement “shall provide for such remedial action as may be necessary to correct the violations and/or deficiencies noted, including, where appropriate (but not necessarily limited to), remedies such as back pay and retroactive seniority.”

Finally, OFCCP’s proposed rule includes an “expedited conciliation option.” Under that option, a contractor can enter into a conciliation agreement before OFCCP issues a PDN or NOV.  Compliance evaluations and responses to PDNs can be extremely costly in terms of time and money.   The expedited conciliation option will provide contractors a procedure to remedy compliance issues without as much time or expense.

OFCCP is accepting public comments on the NPRM through January 29, 2020.  Instructions for submitting a comment can be found at this link:  OFCCP Comments

 

OFCCP Affirmative Action Audits on the Horizon

Robert C. Lockwood
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The OFCCP is about to commence audits of federal contractors to ensure compliance with their affirmative action obligations.

The Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) is focusing on the requirement that federal contractors adopt and annually update affirmative action plans. On August 2, 2018, the OFCCP’s Acting Director, Craig Leen, participated in a public discussion during which he reviewed the current compliance process for contractors.   Currently, contractors simply “check the box” to certify compliance with affirmative action obligations in the General Services Administration’s (“GSA’s”) System for Award Management (“SAM”) registration system.  Mr. Leen expressed concern that many contractors checking the box do not actually possess a valid affirmative action plan.

Mr. Leen’s comments were followed-up by a new OFCCP directive on August 24, 2018:  Directive 2018-07.  The subject of that directive is the commencement of an “Affirmative Action Program Verification Initiative.”  OFCCP “is concerned that many federal contractors are not fulfilling their legal duty to develop and maintain AAPs [Affirmative Action Plans] and update them on an annual basis.”  Therefore,  Directive 2018-07 requires OFCCP to develop a comprehensive program to verify that federal contractors are complying with affirmative action obligations on a yearly basis.  That program will include:

• Development of a process whereby contractors would certify on a yearly basis
compliance with AAP requirements.
• Inclusion of a criterion in the neutral scheduling methodology increasing the
likelihood of compliance reviews for contractors that have not certified compliance
with the AAP requirements.
• Compliance checks to verify contractor compliance with AAP requirements.
• Requesting proffer of the AAP by contractors when requesting extensions of time
to provide support data in response to a scheduling letter.
• Development of information technology to collect and facilitate review of AAPs
provided by federal contractors

Directive 2018-07 does not provide a timeline for implementation.  Nevertheless, it is abundantly clear that compliance audits are coming.  Therefore, federal contractors should carefully review their affirmative action plans for compliance, and make sure that those plan are updated annually.

Federal Contractors: OFCCP Issues Directive on Religious Freedom

Robert C. Lockwood
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The OFCCP issued a directive requiring recognition of religious freedom.

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) has issued a new directive reminding its staff members of their obligation to recognize the religious freedom of federal contractors.  Here’s a link to the new directive:  Directive 2018-3.  Here’s a link the OFCCP press release about the directive:  Press Release.

The directive was issued in response to several recent decisions from the United States Supreme Court on religious freedom, and President Trump’s executive order which “reminded the federal government of its duty to protect religious exercise — and not to impede it.”  Thus, the OFFCP reminded its staff that:

• They “cannot act in a manner that passes judgment upon or presupposes the
illegitimacy ofreligious beliefs and practices” and must “proceed in a manner
neutral toward and tolerant of … religious beliefs.”
• They cannot “condition the availability of [opportunities] upon a recipient’s
willingness to surrender his [ or her] religiously impelled status. ”
• “[A] federal regulation’s restriction on the activities of a for-profit closely held
corporation must comply with [the Religious Freedom Restoration Act].”
• They must permit “faith-based and community organizations, to the fullest
opportunity permitted by law, to compete on a level playing field for …
[Federal] contracts.”
• They must respect the right of “religious people and institutions … to practice
their faith without fear of discrimination or retaliation by the Federal
Government. “

As a practical matter, the new OFCCP directive does not provide much clarity on a key religious issue:  whether government contractors can discriminate against LGBT persons based upon religious beliefs.  Indeed, I previously wrote that President Trump will not rescind President Obama’s Executive Order prohibiting LGBT discrimination:  Trump and LGBT.  For now, government contractors should proceed cautiously if they want take employment actions based upon religious beliefs.

OFCCP: TRICARE Moratorium Extended to 2021

Robert C. Lockwood
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The OFCCP extended a moratorium which excuses TRICARE providers from compliance with affirmative action obligations.

Should TRICARE providers be required to implement affirmative action?  That’s the issue that the United States Department of Labor raised when it issued Directive 2014-01 on March 7, 2014.  Here’s a link to that directive:  DOL Directive 2014-01.  TRICARE is a federal healthcare program that provides benefits to American veterans.  The DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) is responsible for enforcement of the affirmative action obligations imposed upon federal contractors.  Directive 2014-01 effectively imposed a five-year moratorium on requiring TRICARE subcontractors to comply with those obligations.  On May 18, 2018, OFCCP extended that moratorium to May 7, 2021.

Federal laws and regulations require federal contractors and subcontractors to take affirmative steps to ensure equal employment opportunity in their employment processes. When it issued Directive 2014-01, the DOL  recognized a difference of opinion as to who is a covered subcontractor under the law and what obligations the TRICARE subcontractor community has under the law.  Because of that difference of opinion, DOL decided that it would impose the moratorium on enforcement.

The moratorium, however, was set to expire in 2019.  OFCCP’s May 18, 2018 press release extended the moratorium.  Here’s a link to the press release:  May 18, 2018 Press Release.  OFCCP provided the following rationale for extending the affirmative action moratorium:  “Active-duty and retired service members, and their families, too often have difficulty accessing health care. There is evidence suggesting that continued uncertainty regarding the extent to which OFCCP requirements apply to TRICARE providers exacerbates these challenges. With the approaching expiration of the moratorium adding additional uncertainty, this extension will provide OFCCP time to receive feedback from stakeholders, relieve uncertainty, and give OFCCP an opportunity to evaluate and address legislation that may be enacted on this issue.”

 

Government Contracts: OFCCP Compensation Audits Might Change

Robert C. Lockwood
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The OFCCP might make compensation audits more fair for government contractors.

Recent discussions inside the Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) indicate that compensation audits of federal contractors might become more fair for employers.  On April 19, 2018, Bloomberg News released an article indicating that OFCCP was contemplating significant changes to its audit rules.  Here’s a link to the Bloomberg article: Bloomberg OFCCP Article.  The OFCCP conducts audits of government contracts and federal contractors to ensure that employers are complying with federal laws and regulations prohibiting pay discrimination.  Under the Obama Administration, the OFCCP issued Directive 307, which allows auditors to compare compensation of employees even if they perform different work.  For example, auditors might find discrimination by comparing the compensation of two “managers,” even though one manager works in accounting and the other in human resources.

Comparisons of dissimilar employees are generally not permitted in discrimination cases arising under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Instead, an employee suing for pay discrimination must usually compare themselves to another employee doing the same work, in the same location, with the same supervisors.  Because of the discrepancies between OFCCP’s enforcement efforts and traditional employment law, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a report in late 2017 critical of the OFCCP.  It’s report, “OFCCP, Right Mission, Wrong Tactics” can be found here.

The Bloomberg article indicates that the OFCCP is about to scrap or significantly change Directive 307.  That’s good news for federal contractors, who need consistency in the law to succeed in business.  Unfortunately, the Bloomberg article caused some concern among civil rights groups, and an article from the Society for Human Resource Management (which can be found here) indicates the OFCCP’s plans may be delayed.  Even with the delays, the information coming from OFCCP is good news for government contractors, because it indicates a willingness by OFCCP to address employer concerns.