The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is an agency that comes under the U.S. Department of Labor. OFCCP has six Regional Offices and a national network, each Regional office has District and Area Offices in major metropolitan cities.
The Executive Order 11246 and its implementing regulations are administered and enforced by the United States Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. OFCCP also imposes Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that prevents prejudice against qualified personnel’s with disabilities, and the affirmative action provisions of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act that prevents bias against qualified protected veterans.
The OFCCP oversees evaluations regarding compliance to ascertain whether a contractor is in compliance with his commitment to maintain his/her employment practices without any discrimination. It also probes complaints filed against a federal contractor that involves discrimination against a bunch of individuals or discrimination of any nature. If the OFCCP receives a complaint that has levelled allegations against a federal contractor discriminating against an individual, the complaint is then referred by the OFCCP to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for processing. OFCCP promotes voluntary compliance and gives compliance assistance in regard to the needs of the EEO laws that concern Federal subcontractors and contractors.
OFCCP director Patricia Shiu while hosting a live web chat for government contractors was asked what her “one piece” of advice to federal contractors under the Obama Administration would be, Shiu stated: “Be proactive by evaluating your workforce by gender, race, national origin, religion, ethnicity, disability, and veteran status; examine who is being hired, promoted, and terminated; look closely at wages for similarly situated jobs; and develop a culture where equal opportunity and diversity is valued.” Source: United States Department of Labour
The motive of the OFCCP is to impose the contractual obligation of positive action and equal and unbiased employment opportunity needed of those who engage in business along with the federal government.
Human Resource Training
You must be careful during recruiting employees in your company in order to stay compliant with the new directives and regulations of the OFCCP. Human resource training should be provided to your entire HR team, managers and supervisors so that they are updated of the latest OFCCP regulations – this is mandatory to ensure compliance and protect your organization from heavy fines, penalties and litigation.
This webinar presented by human resource compliance expert Cathleen M. Hampton on OFCCP compliance will provide your recruitment team with valuable insights on the changes that they need to make in their hiring processes to stay in compliance with the newly attentive OFCCP.
