OFCCP Week In Review: December 10, 2018

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:

• National Interest Exemption for Alaska Earthquake Relief
• November’s Employment Situation

Monday, December 3, 2018: National Interest Exemption for Alaska Earthquake Relief

OFCCP Acting Director Craig Leen issued a temporary exemption from specific federal contracting requirements for covered government contractors who fall under OFCCP jurisdiction.

Who Gets an Exemption?

Federal contracting agencies which have entered into covered contracts to provide earthquake relief efforts do not have to include certain affirmative action clauses in the Government contracts.

Exempt from What?

The requirement to develop written affirmative action programs under OFCCP regulations implementing EO 11246, VEVRAA, and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

For How Long?

For a period of three months, from December 3, 2018 – March 3, 2019, subject to possible extension.

Must Continue to…

Abide by the nondiscrimination requirements of EO 11246, VEVRAA and Section 503, and to the following FAR requirements:

• Posting of the “Equal Opportunity is the Law” notice under all three laws; Why? It puts applicants and employees on notice of their legal rights about which they might not otherwise be aware. Note: This posting is required on your career website as well. DE Members, contact me for your career website checklist.
• Recordkeeping and record retention requirements under all three laws. Why? These are vital to OFCCP’s ability to prosecute discrimination cases, especially failure-to-hire cases.
• Employment listings with the appropriate employment service delivery system as required under VEVRAA. WHY? See the story below on the lowest veterans unemployment numbers. Getting jobs listed at the local level allows the Veteran Employment Representatives to work quickly with their network of Veterans seeking employment.

Insider Tip

Listing IS NOT Posting! Remember ‘Employers List, States Post.’ The regulations require employers to list available jobs with the local workforce agency asking for priority Veteran Referrals. States may choose (or not) to post jobs to their job board, but that is NOT what the regulation requires of the Covered Federal Contractor.

DirectEmployers Members: We list for compliance and then to enhance recruitment efforts, deliver to the State(s), the National Labor Exchange and thousands of syndicated diversity sites for you!

Additional information:

• Alaska Earthquake National Interest Exemptions
• Alaska Earthquake National Interest Exemptions FAQs

Friday, December 7, 2018: November’s Employment Situation

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released November’s ‘Employment Situation.’ U.S. Secretary of State, Alexander Acosta announced, “The unemployment rate of 3.7% in November marked the first time since 1969 that the unemployment rate has not exceeded 3.7% for three straight months. For an astonishing seven months this year, the unemployment rate has been below 4.0%. Last month matched a record low, set earlier this year, for the African-American unemployment rate.”

Employers – if the numbers above don’t have you reviewing (or creating) your disability inclusion strategy, start circulating the data analysis by Accenture and Disability:IN. Need data on your company? Register your company today and find out where can you can make improvements. Registration for the 2019 Disability Equality Index closes January 11, 2019.

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.