MightyRecruiterAs a federal contractor, you already understand the basic principles and practices of the OFCCP. These practices ensure that government contractors engage in fair employment and hiring practices, and these contractors will be subject to periodic reviews in order to keep their contracts. This information is common knowledge for many contractors, but many people are unaware that the OFCCP has recently altered regulatory compliance evaluation procedures. The following information will give you a comprehensive overview of these newly implemented OFCCP updates.
What This Means for Your Business
For supply and service contractors, there have been no significant OFCCP updates regarding affirmative action and non-discrimination practices. There is, however, a new acronym involved. In recent years, the OFCCP has decided to replace its Active Case Management (ACM) procedure with a new Active Case Enforcement (ACE) policy. The new procedure increases compliance enforcement efforts as well as the laws and orders that it oversees. This is especially true in regards to the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act. This is an important adjustment, since contractors will now be audited more thoroughly and will be required to submit a larger amount of material. If your business has been audited in the past two years, you will not have to immediately worry about these new measures. However, if you have not been audited, you will more than likely need to update your affirmative action plans (AAPs) and make sure that your hiring practices are still non-discriminatory.
Full Desk Audits and Evaluations
In previous years, a full desk audit was only required for every 25th contractor. The new ACE procedures require OFCCP officials to perform these audits during every compliance evaluation, regardless of the reason for the investigation. This audit will include a comprehensive analysis of your AAPs, supporting documents, impact ratio, compensation, and the rationality behind your AAP. In addition to the aforementioned OFCCP updates, every 25th contractor will still be subject to a compliance evaluation and a full review (this includes a desk audit). The review will be performed on-site, and off-site if deemed necessary by the reviewer. Unlike the previous ACM procedures, these new reviews will be performed on all contractors, even if they have not been suspected of discrimination or non-compliance.
4 Types of ACE Investigations
Despite this change in policies, the OFCCP has not changed its investigation procedures, just the frequency and depth of these investigations. There are four types of investigative processes: – Compliance Checks ï These investigations are the least intense, but they will determine whether or not a contractor has maintained the legally required OFCCP records. – Compliance Review ï This is the most common type of investigation, and it will examine your company’s hiring and employment practices in great scope. It will also examine your AAP and its results. These reviews usually consist of a desk audit, on-site review, and off-site analysis. – Focused Review ï This review occurs on-site and will focus on particular aspects of your company’s employment practices and organizational structure. – Offsite Review of Records ï This offsite review will require you to produce all of your AAP records, as well as any other relevant supporting documents.
Preparing for the New ACE Process
The new OFCCP updates still require you to maintain accurate and reliable records of your decisions regarding hiring and non-discrimination. Many employers believe that the OFCCP will overlook them or avoid asking in-depth questions. This is untrue, and the ACE procedure will require all contractors to undergo a comprehensive investigation. There are many ways to prepare for these audits. First of all, you should review all of your AAPs and implement new ones if you feel that the current ones are not satisfactory. You should also make sure that you retain every single record. If you suspect an employee or subordinate of engaging in discriminatory practices, you should conduct a thorough and formal investigation of the matter. If the accusations are true, you should then take the necessary steps to address and resolve these allegations in a fair and professional manner. During the investigation process, it is important to keep all relevant and important documents.
Familiarize Yourself
As a government contractor, it is important to familiarize yourself with these new OFCCP updates as well as the other non-discriminatory rules and regulations. If you have difficulty complying with these standards, the OFCCP does offer direct assistance for businesses of all sizes. There is also a wealth of online and written resources, including the OFCCP Resource Guide. If you would like to learn more about these new updates and how they will impact your business, take advantage of other articles on Mighty Recruiter.