-1.png "MicrosoftTeams-image (3)-1")
The ink has not even dried on the changes the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program (OFCCP) made to the scheduling letter and itemized listing in the Fall of 2014, and now the OFCCP is proposing MORE revisions. Fortunately (or not?), there are only a few potential changes!
The proposed letter if it is approved would revise three major areas of the existing scheduling letter and itemized listing.
1. Collaboration! Collaboration! Collaboration!
The cover letter now specifically says OFCCP may share the information provided in an audit with other federal government agencies to promote interagency coordination and collaboration. This is not included in the current scheduling letter. Agencies have focused on collaboration for the past few years amongst themselves, and this is more proof that it is happening.
2. Similar to the Protected Veteran and Individual with Disability Outreach Efforts?
Current Item 17c of the Itemized Listing requests information on prior year goal achievement for women and minorities, and asks contractors, “…For goals that are not attained, describe the specific good faith efforts made to achieve them.” In current audits, as long as the contractor is able to provide documentation that they did targeted recruiting to meet their placement goal, the Agency moves on to investigate other areas of the Affirmative Action Plan.
The requirement in the proposed document is much broader, asking that contractors: “describe the specific good faith efforts made to remove identified barriers, expand equal employment opportunity, and produce measurable results” for all placement goals not obtained. If this is approved, OFCCP may not stop at whether a contractor engaged in targeted recruiting, but will also want to know if the sources used are working for the contractor. The language is very similar to the now not so new 503 and VEVRAA updated regulations. Based on the updated regulations, contractors have to show that their outreach towards Protected Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities produces qualified applicants/hires and if it is not, they have to find other sources. This new language suggests that OFCCP will focus on the effectiveness of a contractor’s minority and female outreach efforts in the same manner.
3. Updates to Applicant and Hire Data Submission
The third update is to Item 18 of the Itemized Listing, which currently requests Applicants and Hires combined, Promotions and Terminations data. The proposed letter, if approved, would request applicant and hire data separately. What does this proposed change mean for those applicants who are selected, but do not start because they fail a background check or do not show on their first day? These individuals are not hires, right? They will not appear on the New Hires report even though there is an argument for getting credit for the accepted offer. After all, you selected them and it is not your fault if the applicant does not start because of an event beyond your control. Whether this proposed revision signals a change to how OFCCP evaluates offers in its selection analysis remains to be seen.
And the Plus One: Seven Race/Ethnicity Categories Now in Writing
This change is fairly minor, which is why we have called it the plus one.
The current scheduling letter requests that personnel action data (applicants, hires, promotions, terminations) be submitted by the five (5) race categories (African-American/Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Native, White) that are in the current Executive Order 11246 regulations. The proposed scheduling letter expressly allows submission of personnel data using the seven (7) race and ethnicity categories on the EEO-1 survey (Hispanic or Latino, White, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Asian, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Two or more races). OFCCP has been accepting submission of the seven (7) categories as a response to the current scheduling letter, so this change simply puts into writing what the agency’s practice has been.
OFFCP is seeking comments on the new proposed scheduling letter. Any comments must be submitted by December 28, 2015. Until the new scheduling letter is finalized, OFCCP is required to use the current version of the scheduling letter.
Other relevant articles:
.png?width=593&name=MicrosoftTeams-image%20(4).png "MicrosoftTeams-image (4)")