Patricia Shiu, Director of the OFCCP National Office, is scheduled to deliver a keynote address on Wednesday, August 3, 2010 at the 2010 ILG National Conference.  The annual industry conference is attended by corporate EEO and affirmative action leaders from federal contractors across the country.  Jacqueline Berrien, Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, is also scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the conference.   The conference runs August 3-6.

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has scheduled a live web chat on Monday, April 5, 2010 at 3:30pm EDT to gather input on its Proposed Strategic Plan 2010-2016. OFCCP has also posted a slide show presentation on the Department of Labor website that explains their proposed plan.  A link to OFCCP’s Stakeholder Consultation presentation is here.

Highlights from the OFCCP’s Proposed Strategic Plan:  

OFCCP defines its mission as enforcing, for the benefit of job seekers and wage earners, the contractual promise of affirmative action and equal employment opportunity required of those who do business with the Federal government.   

The agency sets out two important strategic goals to achieve this mission:

1.  To  prepare workers for good jobs and ensure fair compensation by increasing workers’ incomes and narrow wage and income inequality; and helping workers who are in low wage jobs or out of the labor market find a path into middle class jobs.
2.  To assure fair and high quality work-life environments by breaking down barriers to fair and diverse workplaces so that every worker’s contribution is respected; and ensuring worker voice in the workplace.

Measuring Results:  OFCCP points out in their proposed strategic plan that it is measuring results differently.  In the future, OFCCP will use a robust sampling model which will allow the agency to better focus its resources.  Additionally, OFCCP will measure and report its efforts within a statistically significant portion of the population of federal contractors that will allow the agency to speak on the compliance rate, discrimination rate, and recidivism rate of the contractor universe.

Measuring Success:  OFCCP identifies two success measures it will use:

1.  Compliance:  Percent of federal contractors found to be compliant with OFCCP’s governing federal laws and executive order;
2.  Recidivism of Discrimination:  Percent of contractor evaluations with discrimination findings when discrimination had been found in previous evaluations.

OFCCP is looking for input on whether these are the right outcomes and whether these are the right measures for these outcomes.

OFCCP Strategies:  OFCCP identifies new approaches it is using. 

1.  OFCCP will broaden its enforcement efforts and will investigate and resolve cases of both individual and systemic discrimination to ensure that individuals as well as classes are given a fair change in the workplace.
2. OFCCP will target recidivism of discrimination by contractors.
3. To increase compliance, OFCCP will conduct corporate wide multi-establishment reviews as well as industry-specific reviews.

OFCCP’s strategies to achieve these goals include:

1.  Dedicating resources to enforce Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, VEVRAA and E.O. 11246.
2. A renewed emphasis on conducting construction reviews.
3. Increasing resources to monitor contractors’ self-audit and self-correction of identified problems.
4. Strengthening relationships with the contractor community and developing a comprehensive stakeholder strategy.

OFCCP is seeking input on whether these strategies make sense to you.

A final draft of the Department of Labor’s overall strategic plan, including the OFCCP and other DOL agencies, will be posted on the DOL website for review and comment in July 2010.  More information on DOL’s strategic planning process can be found here.

Fiscal year 2009 was a “transitional” year for OFCCP.  The agency’s fiscal year 2009 enforcement results are now available on the Department of Labor’s website at www.dol.gov.  An excerpt follows:

“During a year of transitional change, OFCCP utilized its FY 2009 enacted budget of $82,107,000 to enforce laws which prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating in employment based on race, gender, color, religion, national origin, disability, or covered veteran status. The agency strengthened its enforcement posture to protect the rights of American workers who were discriminated against and began to promote the Secretary of Labor’s new vision of “good jobs for everyone”.

In FY 2009, OFCCP entered into financial settlements with 94 contractors for back pay that totaled $9,314,978. The agency’s enforcement efforts corrected unlawful employment discrimination for more than 21,839 American workers. OFCCP negotiated settlements that provided 2,249 new job opportunities for affected workers. In addition to negotiated settlements, in cases where findings of discrimination could not be resolved, the Agency referred 20 cases to the Office of the Solicitor for further enforcement and litigation action. The increase in job opportunities for American workers provided redress for acts of discrimination and leveraged other resources in the workforce development system to ensure worker success and fairness. Annualized salaries associated with these new jobs are not included in the aforementioned $9.3 million in back pay. This change in how the agency reports monetary awards for workers who have been discriminated against will provide transparency. Monetary benefits for affected workers will be reported as workers are actually hired and paid.

As a part of its compliance and enforcement efforts, OFCCP completed 4,000 compliance evaluations. Results from these evaluations concluded in conciliation agreements with nearly 700 contractors during FY 2009.”

The OFCCP has scheduled the third of its “listening sessions” for Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 2pm – 3:00pm EST on Construction Contractor Affirmative Action Requirements.  OFCCP regulations at 41 CFR Part 60-4, require Federal and federally assisted construction contractors to provide equal opportunity in all construction trades.  Projected Publication date for Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM): 1/2011. 

Check the DOL website at www.dol.gov to register for this webinar.