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.
As anticipated OFCCP has started scheduling VEVRAA Focused Reviews, the Agency announced today via e-mail.
The announcement highlighted a number of VEVRAA resources available for contractors, including:
OFCCP encourages contractors to contact them directly with questions either by calling OFCCP’s toll-free
In the next chapter of the EEO pay data collection story, the EEOC announced today it has contracted with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) to
conduct an independent assessment of the quality and utility of the EEO-1 Component 2 data for FY 2017 and 2018.
This is
In another installment of the NILG’s 2020 Virtual Conference Webinar Series, OFCCP’s National Policy team presented updates on the Agency’s directives, regulatory activity, policies and procedure developments.
Director of Policy and Program Development, Tina Williams confirmed “the agency has been busy” and walked attendees through the policy developments and upcoming Agency initiatives. Highlights of
During the opening remarks of the 2020 NILG Annual Conference – this year being held virtually as the NILG 2020 Webinar Series – OFCCP Director Craig Leen announced the Agency will initiate VEVRAA Focused Reviews in as little as two weeks. Prefacing that the Agency will be giving consideration for the COVID-19 pandemic, Director Leen
OFCCP has finalized its rule making to officially confirm the Agency does not, and should not, exert authority over TRICARE providers. OFCCP first took this position in a proposed rule making in November 2019. In the final rule, OFCCP concluded it does not have jurisdiction over healthcare providers based solely on TRICARE provider network
So, it has begun. The confirmation process for now OFCCP Director Craig Leen‘s move out of OFCCP and into the Inspector General of Office of Personnel Management initiated with a hearing before the full committee of the Department of Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs. In an unexpected turn of events, Director Leen was nominated
OFCCP announced today it has received approval of a modified Self-Identification form for individuals with disabilities. One of the biggest changes is the form is now one page, instead of two.
OFCCP requested approval of the modified form from Office of Management and Budget (OMB) last year.
With this approval, OFCCP is giving contractors
EEOC has announced there will be no EEO-1 reporting obligation in 2020.
In a press release, EEOC acknowledged it
will delay the anticipated opening of the 2019 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection and the 2020 EEO-3 and EEO-5 data collections because of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency.
The announcement stated that
As anticipated, but with little fanfare, OFCCP has published a VEVRAA Focused Review landing page. Much like the page it created for Section 503 Individuals with Disabilities Focused Reviews, the Agency’s veterans technical assistance page provides FAQs and Best Practices.
With the recent approval of the VEVRAA Scheduling Letter and the release of
In the third of three new Directives (Directive (DIR) 2020-04), OFCCP has formalized and clarified the role of the Ombudsman in facilitating resolution of conflict between contractors and OFCCP.
The Ombuds Service Protocol, among other important clarifications to Directive (DIR) 2018–09, states:
The mission of the Ombuds Service is to offer