Most OFCCP allegations are resolved through negotiation. Negotiations at the agency level usually end in a signed conciliation agreement. The purpose of this article is to walk you through the negotiation process in case you find yourself considering this option for resolving matters with OFCCP.Why conciliate?You agree with OFCCP that you are in violation of the law. [Rare to get such a concession. Some technical violations...

On April 18, 2012, the subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions of the Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on the potential impact of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs' regulatory and enforcement actions. The areas covered included the proposed Section 503 (disability), Section 4212 (protected veterans) and Compensation data elements of the proposed revised scheduling l...

Monitoring for Compliance in Terminations OFCCP examines terminations when there are racial, gender or other disparities in the rate of terminations in a job group or title that are statistically significant. In most termination cases, these disparities can be readily resolved with proper analysis. Voluntary Terminations The first step is to separate voluntary from involuntary terminations. With voluntary termin...

Three Challenges in Detecting Bias in Promotion Activity Detecting bias in promotion activity can be challenging. From an enforcement perspective, promotion discrimination is difficult to fit into a systemic framework which makes it hard to get the "bang for the buck" enforcement OFCCP prefers. From a compliance perspective, there are the challenges of defining the promotion pools for purposes of analysis and of unde...

If OFCCP's proposed revised scheduling letter is approved anytime in 2012, it will ask you to submit your 2011 AAP data. If your AAP year tracks the calendar year, this is the data you are reviewing now. From the time you receive a scheduling letter, you have 30 days to submit your written affirmative action program along with the documents specified in the enclosed itemized listing. OFCCP has proposed few changes to...

Mark your calendars for February 7, 2012! This will be your last opportunity to weigh in on the proposed revisions to OFCCP's Section 503 regulations at 41 CFR Part 60-741. Why should I comment on the proposed rule? You cannot afford to ignore the significant changes being proposed in the Section 503 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). It is critical that you read and understand what is coming down the pike i...