Christopher T. Patrick

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The 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 reporting period is currently underway.  Most employers with 100 or more employees (and most federal contractors with 50 or more employees) must submit their 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 Report by Tuesday, May 17, 2022.  In past years, for various reasons, the EEOC has extended this deadline to permit additional…

OFCCP’s contractor portal is new for everyone, and we are all learning how to use it.

But it presents a unique and interesting inflection point for higher education employers.

Let us explain . . .

OFCCP uses EEO-1 reports to identify the scope of potential contractor establishments for audit.  Because higher education contractors do…

The EEOC has announced on its EEO-1 Data Collection website that it has, again, extended the deadline for filing EEO-1 Reports this year—this time to October 25.  Employers still rushing to finalize and upload their 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 reports by the prior August 23 deadline will certainly welcome this extra breathing room.

But EEOC’s…

Under 41 CFR 60-300.45, OFCCP must publish the “national percentage of veterans in the civilian labor force” for contractors to use as a “hiring benchmark.”  OFCCP’s initial veteran hiring benchmark (in 2014) was 7.2% .   Every year since, this percentage of available veterans has decreased.   This year, the veteran hiring benchmark…

As we previously reported, OFCCP finally received approval of its new scheduling letters – and as a result federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to submit some additional information when selected for a Department of Labor compliance review.  So, what’s new?  As it turns out, not much.  Most of the most significant changes…

In August, OFCCP issued a proposed new rule to clarify aspects of a religious exemption available to federal contractors.  According to OFCCP, the rule is intended to provide clarity regarding the scope and application of the existing religious exemption consistent with the evolving landscape of religious freedom- based legal developments, including Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd.…

Since the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued its Recommendations to Strengthen the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ Oversight of Federal Contractors’ Nondiscrimination Compliance in July 2016, OFCCP has taken steps to implement its recommendations.  And now, the GAO has issued a progress report evaluating OFCCP’s actions toward the 2016 recommendations.

The GAO’s progress…

Avid readers have seen that OFCCP has been busy this summer.  In August alone, the Agency attended the 2019 ILG National Conference in Milwaukee, issued FAQs on student workers, proposed a new rule regarding religious exemptions, introduced a new Ombudsperson, opened a contractor assistance portal and issued multiple technical assistance guides.  But, OFCCP…

The official rules and authority that govern OFCCP’s actions are set forth in the federal regulations at 41 CFR 60.  These regulations go through notice and comment, as well as substantive review to ensure the appropriate balance of OFCCP’s jurisdiction and tools against the burden they pose on the contractor community.  Due to the…

Functional affirmative action plans (FAAPs) are not new.  While the regulations require AAPs be prepared on an establishment-basis, OFCCP has permitted contractors to structure their AAPs by “function” or “business unit” – with Agency approval.

Implicitly, the Agency’s 2013 Directive on the subject recognized that business structures had evolved since the 1960s.  Establishment-centered chains of…