Highlights include:

• Estimated percentage of minority workers increased from 2005 to 2015, but no growth occurred for female and Black workers, whereas Asian and Hispanic workers made statistically significant increases.
• Female, Black, and Hispanic workers remain a smaller proportion of the technology workforce—mathematics, computing, and engineering occupations—compared to their representation in the general workforce. These groups have also been less represented among technology workers inside the technology sector than outside it.
• Asian workers were more represented in these occupations than in the general workforce.

According to the report, factors may be attributed to:

• Lower representation of certain groups, such as fewer women and minorities graduating with technical degrees.
• Company hiring and retention practices.

Based on these findings, GAO made six recommendations, and aimed five of those at OFCCP. Thomas Dowd, Acting Interim Agency Director of the OFCCP, provided responses that are included in the full report. The recommendations from the GAO and Mr. Dowd’s responses are briefly summarized as:

“The Director of the OFCCP should…”

1. “Analyze internal process data from closed evaluations to better understand the cause of delays that occur during compliance evaluations and make changes accordingly.” Thomas: “Agree…”
2. “Take steps toward requiring contractors to disaggregate demographic data for the purpose of setting placement goals in the AAP rather than setting a single goal for all minorities, incorporating any appropriate accommodation for company size…” Thomas: “This would require regulatory change…however, the current process reviews a favored group compared to a disfavored group…”
3. “Assess the quality of the methods used by OFCCP to incorporate consideration of disparities by industry into its process for selecting contractor establishments for compliance evaluation…” Thomas: “OFCCP is exploring the use of U.S. Census and administrative data to refine its selection process…”
4. “Evaluate the current approach used for identifying entities for compliance review and determine whether modifications are needed to reflect current workplace structures and locations or to ensure that subcontractors are included”. Thomas: “Agree…”
5. “Evaluate the Functional Affirmative Action Program to assess its usefulness as an effective alternative to an establishment-based program, and determine what improvements, if any, could be made to better encourage contractor participation.” Thomas: “Agree…”

Read the overview here and the full 76-page report here.

On Friday, news emerged from Capitol Hill that Republicans MAY sponsor a further Continuing Resolution through December 22, 2017 to allow the Tax Plan Overhaul and give the Budget more time to gel before Congress adjourns for the end of year holidays.

If a shutdown does occur, whether this December 8, December 22, or on some other date, OFCCP will lock all of its files, shut its doors and all employees other than those deemed “essential” will be locked out of their offices and forbidden by law to conduct any official government business. Only three employees in OFCCP’s headquarters (in Washington DC) are typically deemed “essential.” In the last shutdown, during the Obama Administration, not even OFCCP Director Pat Shiu was deemed “essential.” No OFCCP Regional or District Office personnel will be deemed “essential.” The importance of this observation is that only “essential” employees may lawfully conduct government business and incur expenses on behalf of the federal government during a shutdown. All OFCCP laptop computers, cell phones and files will be physically locked in secure filing cabinets. Accordingly, should the shutdown occur, NO OFCCP PERSONNEL WILL RESPOND TO EMAILS OR PHONE CALLS OR CONTINUE TO CONDUCT AUDIT BUSINESS.

Once the Office of Personnel Management announces the shutdown, OFCCP personnel will have four hours to secure their files and leave their offices, or return from out of town.  On Friday December 1, all OFCCP Regional Administrators began to actively make arrangements in preparation for the possibility of a shutdown and began cancelling all travel of their Compliance Officers near the end of the week. Otherwise, federal employees on travel may be “stuck” out of town and unable to spend federal funds to return to their home cities or even pay for their hotel rooms.