U.S. Department of Labor Announces Plan To Assist Federal Contractors’ Compliance

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has released a Town Hall Action Plan based on insights and actionable recommendations derived from meetings hosted by the agency in 2019. Between Feb. 26, 2019 and Oct. 23, 2019, OFCCP hosted seven town hall meetings. These sessions allowed OFCCP to use feedback it received to review its compliance assistance efforts and identify ways to enhance contractors' understanding of their equal employment opportunity obligations.

"Our second Town Hall Action Plan shows our continued commitment to addressing contractor feedback,” said Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Director Craig Leen. "With the success of our first Town Hall Action Plan as a guide, we look forward to achieving even greater results as we implement this second action plan.”

The meetings hosted in 2019 helped OFCCP engage specific industries and stakeholder communities to assess their compliance assistance needs, and hear their ideas and the challenges they faced in meeting their equal employment opportunity obligations. The agency also sought input from the tech, financial, legal and educational industries, and targeted outreach to the veteran and Native American communities. It also received input from contractors, consultants, academics, human resource professionals, stakeholders, the legal community and members of the public who attended the sessions.

 In its plan, OFCCP addresses six emerging themes:

• Update and develop new resources to assist contractors in conducting outreach to diverse talent pools;
• Provide more compliance assistance and resources for contractors to develop effective affirmative action programs and allow for more dialogue with contractors during compliance evaluations;
• Enhance avenues  for collaboration between contractors;
• Enhance resources for protected veterans and their associates, including spouses;
• Enhance resources to increase the effectiveness of the Indian and Native American Employment Rights Program for Native American workers and job seekers; and
• Enhance resources for disability inclusion.

OFCCP's goal is to create a noticeable difference in the quality, consistence, availability and efficiency of compliance assistance materials; enhance resources; and increase transparency.

The agency's outreach is underway in cooperation with the department's Office of Compliance Initiatives (OCI), a cross-agency effort that complements the department's enforcement activities by strengthening and innovating compliance assistance outreach to provide employers and workers with access to information about their rights and responsibilities. As part of this, OCI launched Worker.gov and Employer.gov, both of which address a range of employment issues, including federal contractor responsibilities.

OFCCP is a civil rights agency in the U.S. Department of Labor. It enforces Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974. Collectively, these laws prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran. For more information, please call OFCCP's toll-free helpline at 800-397-6251 or visit http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.