Directive 2022-02: Effective Compliance Evaluations and Enforcement issued March 31, 2022 is intended to

strengthen OFCCP compliance evaluations and reduce delay by promoting the timely exchange of information

It also sets a number of expectations for contractor conduct and compliance during reviews, rescinding a number of previous Directives that set out transparency and expectations and timelines for submission of information – commonly known as previous OFCCP Director Craig Leen’s Four Pillars.

Per OFCCP this new Directive:

  • updates agency policies regarding the scheduling of contractors for compliance evaluations, including enhancing the agency’s neutral scheduling procedures to reach a broader universe of federal contractors, and eliminating delays in scheduling.
  • establishes contractors’ obligations regarding timely submission of Affirmative Action Programs (AAPs) and support data, supplemental information, and access to employees, applicants, and other witnesses.
  • increases contractor accountability through the Contractor Portal, by makes stating that when covered contractors use OFCCP’s Contractor Portal to annually certify compliance with their AAP obligations, contractors are certifying that they have developed and maintained complete AAPs in compliance with OFCCP’s requirements.

This new directive explicitly rescinds:

  1. DIR 2018-06Contractor Recognition Program (Aug. 24, 2018);
  2. DIR 2018-08Transparency in OFCCP Compliance Activities (Sept. 19, 2018);
  3. DIR 2020-02Efficiency in Compliance Evaluations (Apr. 17, 2020);
  4. DIR 2021-02Certainty in OFCCP Policies and Practices (Dec. 11, 2020)

While the Agency has removed these Directives from the Agency’s Directive website, they are available in archives.

We are unpacking this new directive and will be back with further details.

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Photo of Laura A. Mitchell Laura A. Mitchell

As co-leader of the firm’s ESG group, Laura Mitchell partners with her clients to evaluate, set, achieve and monitor their organizational culture and human capital goals. She focuses her practice on data analytics, including pay equity and other employee analytics, working side-by-side with…

As co-leader of the firm’s ESG group, Laura Mitchell partners with her clients to evaluate, set, achieve and monitor their organizational culture and human capital goals. She focuses her practice on data analytics, including pay equity and other employee analytics, working side-by-side with employers to build programs that benefit employees and create a stable, high-functioning workplace. Understanding that an inclusive, values-based culture provides a crucial competitive advantage in the modern workplace, Laura enjoys counseling companies on the development of proactive and equitable pay and diversity practices.

In Laura’s version of the reimagined workplace, attention to human capital issues, especially DEI and pay equity, would be the rule rather than the exception nationwide and she works with companies across all industries—both new and well-established multi-national organizations of all sizes—to realize this vision for her clients’ ongoing success. She helps clients understand all issues across the spectrum of their journey, helping to establish regular analyses as well as counseling organizations on implementation and compliance obligations, where applicable. Committed to putting her clients’ organizational goals first and foremost, Laura views herself as an extension of her clients’ team, responsible for providing proactive guidance and engaging in transparent, ongoing communication.

Laura also represents companies in OFCCP matters, preparing for and defending OFCCP audits, and counseling employers on issues stemming from OFCCP regulations. She personally oversees the development of hundreds of Affirmative Action Plans for clients each year and is intimately involved in the defense of OFCCP audits. Her approach to compliance is one of facilitation and conciliation while simultaneously advocating in the best interests of her clients.