3E02 Creation and Maintenance of the Case File

COs must create and maintain a case file for each scheduled compliance evaluation. The case file generally consists of various folders so, in order to create a case file, COs must create individual folders using the below headings.194

a. Folder 1: Construction SCER Findings (See FCCM 3Q)

b. Folder 2: Case Chronology Log, Correspondence and Meeting Notes

c. Folder 3: Employment Handbooks, Collective Bargaining and Other Agreements, and Miscellaneous Items

d. Folder 4: SOL Opinions, JRC Memoranda and Post-Construction SCER Update

e. Folder 5: Progress Reports

f. Folder 6: Historical Review Results

g. Folder 7: Monthly Employment Hours and Pre-Construction Conference Materials

COs add information and documents to the appropriate folder throughout the course of the compliance evaluation. If enforcement becomes necessary, COs provide the compliance evaluation case file to the Solicitor’s Office for further action. It is critically important that all information obtained, observed or reported be part of the case file and remain there through case closure.

Once again, maintaining these files is crucial and includes labeling the folder and any additional folders or subfolders needed (e.g., Folder 1A, 1B). Labeling is especially useful when the material in a folder is voluminous. COs must arrange the documents in each folder by date, with the most recent document on top. COs are required to attach certain documents in each folder to the left or right side of the folder, as indicated below. Generally, whenever there are ten or more separate documents in a folder, the CO must prepare an index and place it in the front of that folder.

A complete and thorough case file is critically important, especially in the event that enforcement becomes necessary. Therefore, COs must be sure that the case file contains all documents obtained or generated during the compliance evaluation, not just the material that supports the conclusions reached. This means, for example, that the file includes both evidence that supports the CO’s violation findings, as well as evidence that supports the contractor’s rebuttal. The case file must contain all contractor records and unaltered copies of all e-mail correspondences in paper or electronic format. Drafts of OFCCP memoranda are not included in the case file; COs retain only final versions of agency memoranda.

If a CO is submitting a case for enforcement, a Transmittal Memorandum, as discussed in Chapter 8 of this Manual on the resolution of noncompliance, must accompany the case file. A complete copy of at least one contract or subcontract establishing coverage during the period at issue, continuing to the present, is also required. Additionally, the enforcement submission includes copies of all relevant analyses, properly labeled, in electronic format. Remember to keep a copy of all files submitted for enforcement in the appropriate field office.195