Putting the ‘Action’ in Your Affirmative Action Program

You’ve completed your Annual Affirmative Action Plan (AAP), and have your plan results – now what? The Affirmative Action program for a federal contractor does not end once the written AAP is completed. Once the written AAP is completed, a contractor must now put that plan into action. Below we will discuss ways a contractor can put the ‘action’ into their affirmative action programs.

Identifying Problem Areas, and Developing Action-Oriented Programs

Putting the ‘Action’ into your affirmative action plan can seem like an overwhelming process, but it does not have to be. Creating a ‘plan of attack’ with regards to implementing the AAP into your organization can help this step not feel like a daunting one.

Once plan results have been reviewed, action-oriented programs should be developed and implemented wherever placement goals are identified for Minorities and Women. These programs are developed to show the good faith efforts a contractor has demonstrated to try to achieve their goals. These programs should be tailored to remedy specific concerns and should be tracked and evaluated to determine if the action-oriented program was successful. There are a few different types of actions a contractor can take to implement these required elements; let’s explore these further.

One way to develop an action-oriented program would be to develop internal and external training programs for employees. An example of an internal training program could be any on the job training given to an employee. An external training program could be if the company provides an educational benefit, for example tuition reimbursement.

Another way to develop an action-oriented program would be to get involved with the community. Developing a strong relationship with the community can open up opportunities to join forces with local organizations that assist minorities, women, individuals with disabilities (IWD), or protected veterans (PV), which can diversify your applicant pipeline. These relationships can be established by holding open houses or job fairs for representatives of a community organization, local colleges and universities, and for potential employees. Opening the organization to these local groups by providing tours of the facility, as well as an overview of the organization and its policies on Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) / Affirmative Action (AA), and descriptions of open positions can lead to potential applicant referrals. Another way to build community relationships would be to sponsor training programs that can help the unemployed or underemployed.

Performing targeted outreach and recruitment for current vacancies can help a contractor try to achieve their current placement goals. This can be done by encouraging all staff members (including minorities, women, PV, and IWD) to provide referrals to the organization for any open positions. Contractors should also post their open positions to specific sources, for example minority or women organizations, veteran groups, etc.

Contractors will also want to ensure internal communication procedures regarding internal problem resolution procedures are not only created but are up to date and communicated to all employees.

If the plan results yielded disparities in personnel activities (adverse impact), contractors will want to take action to ensure that selection activities are fair and equitable (a result of adverse impact does not automatically mean there is unlawful discrimination occurring). Proactive changes should be made to change processes where needed. This can be done by investigating internal processes related to selection decisions (for example reviewing the disposition reasons that are in use to determine if they are descriptive enough to exclude applicants that did not meet the internet applicant rule).

Lastly, contractors should review their compensation systems on an annual basis to determine if there are any gender, race, or ethnicity-based disparities in compensation. These analyses can be conducted under attorney-client privilege, so the results are not discoverable.

Communicating Plan Results

Once the plan results have been reviewed, and problem areas identified, a communication plan should be developed to ensure the results of the AAP are disseminated effectively. The first item to identify is the target audience for the results. This could be your hiring managers, executives, supervisors, and administrators. Next, determine in what manner these meetings should be conducted, and the frequency of the meetings. Creating a specific agenda for these meetings based on your audience can ensure that the results and intended messaging are clearly communicated. Some examples of topics could be included (but are not limited to):

• The contractor’s EEO/AA Policy and its commitment to EEO/AA.
• An overview of affirmative action laws and regulations and any new developments in affirmative action. This could include any new state laws that deal with affirmative action as well (for example state pay transparency laws and requirements).
• A review of the AAP results which can include a look at the placements goals, protected veteran hiring rate, utilization of IWD, and analysis of problem areas.

These meetings can also communicate areas of success and progress in the organization based on the AAP results as well as areas of concern or that need improvement. The roles and responsibilities regarding the affirmative action program can be discussed as well. Any items that are discussed in these meetings should be documented and distributed to the attendees as well as the individuals who were unable to attend. Documentation should be kept in the event it is requested during an OFCCP compliance review.

Developing Internal Audit and Reporting Systems        

Now that the written AAP results have been reviewed, problem areas identified, with action-oriented programs developed, and results have been communicated, a contractor has an obligation to design and implement audit and reporting systems. These systems are used to do the following:

• measure the effectiveness of the AAP and the compliance with the AAP’s specific obligations,
• document actions taken to assure compliance with the AAP’s specific obligations, identify any need for remedial action,
• determine the degree of the organization’s AAP objectives are attained,
• determine if protected individuals have had the full opportunity for equal employment and to participate in all organization sponsored educational, training, recreation, and social activities.

Contractors should identify each AAP component to be addressed and create notes on what was changed, or what needs to be followed up on. For example, for the AAP component of doing a review of your voluntary self-identification process, the review and follow-up could be that you verified that the information is being collected from the applicants correctly and is being stored confidentially in a file that has limited access viewing within the applicant tracking system. Some other AAP components to be audited include (but are not limited to) a contractor’s hiring process, communication with vendors and subcontractors, personnel policies and processes, and communication with employees and applicants.

Putting the ‘action’ into your affirmative action program can be a daunting, but necessary task. By taking this task step by step, you are not only ensuring your organization is in compliance with federal regulations, but you are also ensuring your organization would be prepared if the dreaded audit letter were to come from the OFCCP. It may also be helpful to develop an internal team that is responsible for ensuring the organization is putting all sections of their AAP into action, so the responsibility does not fall solely on one individual. The biggest takeaway: document, document, document! Having a systematic way of ‘actioning’ your AAP will alleviate a lot of stressors that can come along with affirmative action compliance.