US Department of Labor asks judge to force federal contractor to provide documents, info needed for equal employment opportunity evaluation

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has asked the Office of Administrative Law Judges to compel a federal contractor in the District of Columbia to provide documents and information needed to complete a scheduled compliance evaluation of the company’s equal employment opportunity practices.

The action follows a May 20, 2022, request by the department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to Ad Hoc LLC — a digital services and software provider — for required information on the employer’s affirmative action programs and supporting data information in an agency scheduling letter.

Despite repeated requests, the company failed to provide the agency with the requested information. In December 2022, OFCCP issued Ad Hoc a Show Cause Notice that demanded the employer submit the outstanding information and data or explain why the agency should not begin enforcement proceedings. The company has yet to reply to the department’s requests.

“Ad Hoc LLC’s repeated failure to provide us with the documentation we need to complete a required compliance evaluation clearly violated their legal obligations as a federal contractor,” explained Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Regional Director Sam Maiden in Philadelphia. “Complying with the law about equal employment opportunity protections — or other regulations — is never a choice, it is a rule that companies that accept federal contracts must follow.”

In its filing with the OALJ, the department also seeks an order to cancel the company’s current government contracts and debar them from obtaining future government contracts, if Ad Hoc fails to comply.

“The filing demonstrates that the U.S. Department of Labor will vigorously enforce the law to ensure equality and compliance with anti-discrimination regulations by federal contractors,” said Deputy Regional Solicitor Samantha Thomas in Philadelphia.

Ad Hoc LLC develops and manages digital software products, and has a contract for design, development and product management of the public-facing portions of HealthCare.gov.

OFCCP enforces Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974. Together, these laws prohibit employment discrimination.