Hello and Welcome from the Opening Day of the 2021 Industry Liaison Group (ILG) National Conference.

After a year hiatus, the 2021 ILG National Conference officially kicked off today from Nashville, TN.  Offering access to programming both virtually and in person, the conference is working hard to address the realities of operating in a COVID world.

After a day of pre-conference content on Sunday, the conference formally started this morning with a recorded presentation from OFCCP Director Jenny Yang.

Director Yang started her remarks by sharing the news that beginning August 16, Michelle Hodge, now the Mid-Atlantic Region Regional Director, will be Director Yang’s Career Deputy Director.

She then commented generally on Department of Labor Secretary Walsh’s vision for the agency and focus on working to ensure

good jobs free from discrimination are accessible to everyone.

She expressed that OFCCP is a resource to support efforts of employers to “remove barriers to opportunities.”

As for updates and announcements about ” things to come” from OFCCP, Director Yang noted a couple of items:

  • If the new federal budget is approved would support hiring of close to 188 Full Time Agency employees as well as other IT initiatives, that will allow OFCCP to review data at a national level through continued build out of its management system.
  • Reinvigoration of the construction contractor program, to include, a new scheduling letter (with new categories of data to be submitted at the outset of audits) and a new construction audit scheduling selection system.
  • Continued work on encouraging contractors to use FAAPs (Functional Affirmative Action Plans), which the Agency believe have many benefits, including grouping of more similarly situated employees which allows OFCCP to “identify more areas for growth.”
  • Intention to modernize regulations, to streamline processes and reduce burdens while “comprehensively” evaluating indicators.  Some of the modernizations Director Yang mentioned the Agency is considering including:
    • requiring disaggregated goal setting by race/ethnicity
    • looking at alternatives to establishment based approach better analyze workforce patterns
    • collection of gender non-binary data

Director Yang also highlighted that the Agency has posted an updated FAQs to address the new realities of work locations, including telework.

Director Yang closed out her remarks by saying she’s looking forward to working with the contractor community for years to come.

 

Tags: 2021 ILG National conference, construction contractors, FAAPs, Functional Affirmative Action Plans, OFCCP, OFCCP Director Jenny Yang
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Photo of Laura A. Mitchell Laura A. Mitchell

Laura A. Mitchell is a Principal in the Denver, Colorado, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She is a member of the firm’s Affirmative Action and OFCCP Defense practice group as well as the firm’s Pay Equity Resource Group. She is also on the…

Laura A. Mitchell is a Principal in the Denver, Colorado, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She is a member of the firm’s Affirmative Action and OFCCP Defense practice group as well as the firm’s Pay Equity Resource Group. She is also on the leadership team for the firm’s Government Contractor Industry Group.

Her practice is focused on representing government and non-government contractors in OFCCP matters, preparing for and defending OFCCP audits, and counseling employers on issues stemming from OFCCP regulations. Ms. Mitchell personally oversees the development of hundreds of AAPs each year and is intimately involved in the defense of numerous OFCCP audits. She also spends significant time counseling companies in connection with conducting pay equity analyses as well as government contractor employment obligations.

Ms. Mitchell is the editor and a principal contributor of The Affirmative Action Law Advisor blog and frequently presents on pay equity, affirmative action compliance, OFCCP enforcement trends, and government contractor obligations.

JD Supra Readers Choice Top Author 2018

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