The OFCCP Week in Review (WIR) is a simple, fast and direct summary of relevant happenings in the OFCCP regulatory environment, authored by experts John C. Fox, Candee Chambers and Jennifer Polcer. In today’s edition, they discuss:
Wednesday, March 28, 2018: Compliance Evaluation Survey’s – To Come!
Town hall sessions last fall informed the OFFCP that Federal Contractors are concerned about communication, trust, and training. In what appears to be a response to some of these concerns, the OFCCP notified Federal Contractors that if they completed a compliance evaluation between October 1, 2012, and September 30, 2017, a survey of that experience should arrive soon.
The distribution of an evaluation survey tells us a few important things about the new OFCCP leadership:
- They recognize Federal Contractors as “customers” and care about customer satisfaction (note the email address to send questions to is OFCCP-Customer-Exp-Survey@dol.gov);
- They are looking for concrete constructive suggestions (not just whining) about how to proceed (“…you will have the opportunity to provide concrete suggestions for improving your interaction with OFCCP.”;
- They believe there has been a “concern” in audits as to the three things the OFCCP says the survey will encompass: communication, transparency, and timeliness;
- They understand that there is a fear of speaking up.
In response to number four, the survey will be sent out via a SurveyMonkey, which will make survey responses anonymous. The OFCCP has reiterated that they, “…will not schedule a contractor for a compliance evaluation based on participation in this survey. Additionally, because the survey is anonymous, your participation will have no impact on any compliance evaluation that is already underway.”
We highly encourage anyone receiving the survey to provide honest and constructive feedback!
Friday, March 30, 2018: VEVRAA Hiring Benchmark Lowered to 6.4%
The OFCCP announced a new VEVRAA hiring benchmark of 6.4%. Down from 6.7%, this follows the downward trend of the benchmark since its inception in March 2014.
| Annual VEVRAA Benchmark Effective Dates | ||
| Percentage | Effective Date | |
| From | To | |
| 6.4 | 03/31/2018 | — |
| 6.7 | 03/31/2017 | 03/30/2018 |
| 6.9 | 03/04/2016 | 03/30/2017 |
| 7 | 04/21/2015 | 03/03/2016 |
| 7.2 | 03/24/2014 | 04/20/2015 |
With the current Veteran unemployment rate at 3.5% (See OFCCP Week In Review: March 12, 2018), this may leave you scratching your head. How do you hire Veterans at 6.4% when there are only 3.5% Veterans unemployed? This is because of the thousands of veterans coming home every day who need to find good jobs. Moreover, recruiters and compliance folks – it’s time to put forth more outreach efforts to attract these veterans to your front door.
THIS COLUMN IS MEANT TO ASSIST IN A GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE CURRENT LAW AND PRACTICE RELATING TO OFCCP. IT IS NOT TO BE REGARDED AS LEGAL ADVICE. COMPANIES OR INDIVIDUALS WITH PARTICULAR QUESTIONS SHOULD SEEK ADVICE OF COUNSEL.
Reminder: If you have specific OFCCP compliance questions and/or concerns or wish to offer suggestions about future topics for the OFCCP Week In Review, please contact your membership representative at (866) 268-6206 (for DirectEmployers Association Members), or email Jennifer at jpolcer@directemployers.org with your ideas.
