It wouldn’t be a new year without insight from our employment law experts John C. Fox and Candee Chambers! A few weeks ago, we launched our first new DE Talk Podcast episode of 2024, featuring these two, as they recapped all that took place in the regulatory environment in 2023. In this conversation they covered the top ten issues that affected federal contractors, including everything from AI to CSALS and beyond. Let’s take a sneak peek at one of these issues, and then be sure to listen to the full episode to hear the rest. You don’t want to miss this conversation as you prepare for what’s to come this year!
Candee Chambers:
One of the things that I think took every federal contractor who was on a CSAL this year by just, I don’t want to say surprise, but by just devastation, was the new audit scheduling letter for supply and service contractors. I even made the comment in a webinar that I had had so many audits when I was actually a practicing compliance person that I am glad at this point that I’m not doing that because of all of the stuff that they’re asking for these days. I mean, and compensation analysis. I mean, I don’t know. I look at the burden hours that they put on that and there’s a reason that facepalm emoji is my favorite. It’s like really? I mean, what are they thinking? What are your thoughts on that? Do you have clients that are under that new-
John C. Fox:
Well, I think every contractor that’s looked at the new audit scheduling letter is upset about it because it does foreshadow tremendous burden. Now, the good news is that there were only 898 supply and service contract audits that were completed last fiscal year 2023.
Candee Chambers:
And now they’re going to increase that number with all this other stuff they’re asking for.
John C. Fox:
Well, they think they’re going to increase it, but with these kinds of data dredges that are coming out in these new scheduling letters, not only is the contractor going to be burdened, but there’s a lot more to look at on the OFCCP side. They’re going to slow down even slower than they are and realize that they are running at about 20% of what the Obama administration did, and about one third of what the Trump administration did. We’re seeing a gradual slowdown over time, but now they’re at a crawl. The good news is, as upsetting as this audit scheduling letter was for just about every contractor, it’s only going to affect a very tiny portion, those who are in a supply and service audit. The next thing that occurs to me about the scheduling letter is that there will be a lot of need for OFCCP to analyze a lot of data in a way that they’ve never looked at before.
Candee Chambers:
Exactly.
John C. Fox:
And as a result, you’re going to see a lot more back and forth. Now, here’s the rub. If you play by the rules of OFCCP’s regs, OFCCP cannot obtain anything more from a contractor during the desk audit than what is in that audit letter and in the itemized listing that is attached to that audit.
Candee Chambers:
What about those supplemental data requests?
John C. Fox:
Those are totally illegal. They’re not appropriate. They’re not allowed. Everybody just caves in and honors that. It’s a tradition that people are just, “oh, well, I got an email. They want these things, I’m going to send it to them.” Well, realize you don’t have to do that.
To hear more on this topic and the other nine issues that came about in 2023 that still affect federal contractors today, listen to the full episode! And stay tuned for a new episode in the coming weeks – be sure to subscribe to emails or text alerts to be among the first to know when it’s available!
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