Executive Summary: On August 3, 2018, the head of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) contractor enforcement office announced that the DOL intends to identify and audit contractors who fail to certify their affirmative action compliance to the government. The announcement was made by Craig Leen, Acting Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), during the National Industry Liaison Group conference in Anaheim, California.
Articles Discussing Affirmative Action
2018 VETS-4212 Filing Season is Here; Deadline is September 30
On August 1, 2018, the DOL’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) opened the filing season for the 2018 VETS-4212 report. The VETS-4212 report is an annual report that provides information regarding the number of protected veteran employees in each job category, as well as the number of protected veteran new hires for the preceding 12-month period by job category. Covered federal contractors and subcontractors must file the 2018 VETS-4212 report if they held a federal contract or subcontract valued at $150,000 or more at any point during calendar year 2017. The deadline for filing the report is September 30, 2018.
OFCCP Orders Staff to Respect Contractors’ Religious Freedoms
On August 10, 2018, Craig Leen, Acting Director of the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), issued a new directive, 2018-03, instructing staff to take into account in their affirmative action and equal employment opportunity enforcement activities recent Supreme Court opinions and Trump administration executive orders addressing the freedoms and anti-discrimination protections that must be afforded religion-exercising organizations and individuals under the United States Constitution and federal law.
OFCCP Focused Reviews Coming in FY 2019
On August 10, 2018, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued a new directive, 2018-04, announcing a plan to implement focused reviews of contractors’ compliance with Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA). This new directive comes a week after OFCCP’s Acting Director Craig Leen discussed such a plan at the Industry Liaison Group National Conference in Anaheim, California.
OFCCP Focused Reviews to Begin in Fiscal Year 2019
In the Directive released late last week, OFCCP announced its plan to start scheduling focused reviews starting in Fiscal Year 2019. OFCCP’s fiscal year begins October 1.
Annual VETS Reporting Portal Open
Even though it feels as thought we are still in the midst of summer, the time is here for annual VETS-4212 reporting. The portal is now open for the 2018 filing season which started on August 1, 2018 and ends on September 30, 2018.
OFCCP Acting Director Promises Clear Guidance and Consistency While Laying out a Program of Carrots and Sticks
In his first two speeches after taking over as Acting Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), Craig Leen emphasized a commitment to the rule of law, promised to provide contractors with clear guidance and transparent enforcement processes, offered incentives for voluntary compliance, and outlined plans to identify and audit government contractors that are ignoring their obligations. His speeches came at the beginning and end of a four-day Industry Liaison Group National Conference held last week in Anaheim, California that was attended by HR compliance professionals and officials from the Department of Labor (DOL), OFCCP, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Although the conference included presentations from industry experts, the highlight for many was the opportunity to hear directly from the OFCCP, including its new acting director.
OFCCP Working on Contractor Certification Program
Following the tone of the preceding days, the 2018 ILG National Conference closed Friday morning with a friendly conversation between Acting Director Craig Leen and NILG Chair Paul McGovern.
OFCCP Releases Description of “What Contractors Can Expect”
It has been a busy morning on the first day of the 2018 ILG National Conference in Anaheim, California. After a dramatic and moving opening presentation, OFCCP Acting Director Craig Leen gave the morning’s Keynote address. Echoing the conference’s “Navigating the Waves of Change” theme, Acting Director Leen spoke to the group about the four pinnacles of change the current administration is focused on, which are:
Change at the Top: Ondray Harris Stepping Down as OFCCP Director
Littler has confirmed that Ondray Harris will be stepping down as head of the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP) effective July 27, 2018. Mr. Harris will be replaced by Deputy Director Craig Leen, who will serve as the Acting Director.
OFCCP Extends Enforcement Moratorium for TRICARE Subcontractors to 2021, Includes Veterans Affairs Health Benefits Program Providers
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has issued Directive 2018-2, which extends the moratorium on its enforcement of affirmative obligations for subcontractors under TRICARE, the health care program of the United States Department of Defense that provides medical benefits to active duty and retired military personnel and their families.
U.S. DOL Announces Two-Year TRICARE Moratorium Extension
Executive Summary: On May 18, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a press release announcing an Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) Directive that extends by two years the enforcement moratorium pertaining to the affirmative obligations of TRICARE providers. TRICARE is a health care program through the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) that pays health care benefits to active duty and retired military service members and their families. The moratorium, which had previously been in effect for four years and was set to expire this month, will now expire on May 7, 2021. The OFCCP also expanded coverage under the moratorium to apply to Veterans Affairs Health Benefits Program providers, in addition to TRICARE providers.
OFCCP Extends Moratorium on TRICARE Enforcement for Two More Years
On May 18, 2018, the U.S. Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued a directive ending uncertainty as to whether efforts to audit TRICARE participants will resume in 2019 and signaling an encouraging willingness to reconsider the agency’s prior positions on this issue. Directive 2018-02 announces a two-year extension of the current moratorium on enforcement of federal contractor obligations based on TRICARE participation through May 7, 2021.
Only One Item On OFCCP’s Spring Regulatory Agenda: TRICARE
Today, the Trump Administration released its Spring 2018 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, which “reports on the actions administrative agencies plan to issue in the near and long term.”
OFCCP Clarifies Methodology for Contractor Audit Selection
On April 18, 2018, in another step signaling increased transparency for federal contractors, OFCCP issued a release describing its methodology for selecting and scheduling federal contractors for audit in 2018.