The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) has released its 2024 Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (“VEVRAA”) benchmark.  Effective March 31, 2024, the new benchmark is 5.2%, a slight decrease from 2023’s 5.4% benchmark.  This is OFCCP’s ninth reduction of the benchmark, which has steadily declined since its inception in 2014. The VEVRAA Benchmark is the figure which federal contractors must use to assess the effectiveness of their outreach programs for the hiring of veterans.  Contractors may either use OFCCP’s national benc ..read more

On March 25, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced that its Contractor Portal will open to receive Affirmative Action Program (“AAP”) certification submissions on April 1, 2024.  Certifications must be made by July 1, 2024. Since launching the Contractor Portal in 2022, OFCCP has required covered federal contractors and subcontractors to “certify, on an annual basis, whether they are meeting their requirement to develop and maintain annual AAPs.” OFCCP posted a pre-recorded webinar to its Contractor Portal landing page guiding contrac ..read more

            On January 29, 2024, the 15th anniversary of the enactment of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Biden Administration announced that it would be taking new actions to implement the Executive Order on Advancing Economy, Efficiency, and Effectiveness in Federal Contracting by Promoting Pay Equity and Transparency issued by President Biden in March 2022.  The actions impacting federal contractors – which mirror restrictions and requirements imposed by a number of states, but not currently the subject of federal law – are s ..read more

On December 22, 2023, a court in the Northern District of California ordered the disclosure of EEO-1 Reports filed by federal contractors and subcontractors (“Contractors”) between 2016 and 2020 in the case, Center for Investigative Reporting v. U.S. Dep’t of Labor, No. 3:22-cv-07182-WHA (N.D. Cal. Dec. 22, 2023).   As we previously reported, in 2022, OFCCP published notice of the Center for Investigative Reporting’s (“CIR”) request pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) for all Type 2 Consolidated Employer Information Reports, Standard Form 100 (“EEO-1 Report”) filed by fede ..read more

On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued an “Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence” (the “EO”), the first executive order directly addressing artificial intelligence. Of particular interest to federal government contractors, the EO provides that within 365 days of publication, “to prevent unlawful discrimination from AI used for hiring, the Secretary of Labor shall publish guidance for Federal contractors regarding nondiscrimination in hiring involving AI and other technology-based hiring systems.”  This development follows ..read more

We appear to be on the precipice of another federal government shutdown.  Absent a political compromise, the federal government’s funding will run out on September 30, 2023.  During previous government shutdowns, government agencies and departments issued stop-work orders, grinding work on government projects and contracts to a halt.  Contractors were then faced with the difficult task of remaining in compliance with their obligations to their employees while work and funding for those contracts has ceased. With a possible shutdown on the horizon, contractors are beginning ..read more

As we previously posted, federal contractors and subcontractors meeting the VEVRAA eligibility threshold (“Covered Contractors”) have until September 30, 2023 to file their VETS-4212 Reports. Covered Contractors are “recommend[ed]” to file the form electronically, but they can email or physically mail a paper form to the DOL. Federal contracting agencies “are prohibited from… expending funds to enter into a contract” with Covered Contractors that fail to file the VETS-4212 report. FAQs on the Vets-4212 Report can be found here ..read more

On September 8, 2023, OFCCP announced it posted a new Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL) for supply and service contractors. OFCCP announced that the list consists of 1,000 federal contractors and subcontractors selected for a Compliance Review (Establishment Review), Corporate Management Compliance Evaluation, Functional Affirmative Action Program Review or a University Review. Note that the list merely notifies these contractors and subcontractors that they will be audited – audits will not commence until the entity receives a Scheduling Letter.  However, Scheduling ..read more

On August 25, 2023, OFCCP announced the implementation of its revised Combined Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing, which “applies to supply and service compliance evaluations scheduled on or after August 24, 2023.”  The documents are provided to contractors at the outset of OFCCP audits and set forth the materials contractors must submit for the initial phase of the evaluation. As we previously reported, OFCCP originally proposed significant revisions to the Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing in November 2022, and in April 2023 the Office of Management and Budget published a sligh ..read more

On August 4, 2023, OFCCP published its final rule, “Pre-Enforcement Notice and Conciliation Procedures” (the “New Rule”) which “modif[ies] procedures and standards [OFCCP] uses when issuing pre-enforcement notices and securing compliance through conciliation.” In a blog post, OFCCP Acting Director Michele Hodge touts the final rule as one that “strengthens [OFCCP’s] ability to investigate and remedy employment discrimination.” The New Rule amends the agency’s “Nondiscrimination Obligations of Federal Contractors and Subcontractors: Procedures To Resolve Potential Employment Discrimination” rul ..read more