Most of the recent discussion about affirmative action compliance reviews by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) tends to focus on two areas: (1) OFCCP's investigation of possible compensation discrimination by federal contractors and subcontractors, and (2) issues concerning veterans and persons with disabilities, especially in regard to outreach to find members of these two groups. There is no question that these two areas have been priorities for OFCCP. Yet, the majority of the back pay settlements growing out of affirmative action compliance reviews still involve hiring disparities, especially in entry-level positions. A quick look at OFCCP's website as of mid-January in 2013 substantiates this. Three recent press releases reported on OFCCP's website show that companies paid between $300,000 and $439,000 to groups of minorities or females applying for entry-level jobs, and there are no recent press releases concerning compensation settlements or problems involving veterans and persons with disabilities.
What does this mean for federal contractors and subcontractors? It means that the applicant data that is provided to OFCCP is a critical piece of information in any compliance review. (By "applicant data", we mean the numerical data concerning applicants that is provided to OFCCP on personnel activity reports and other statistical reports.) There are a variety of ways in which companies fail to understand how OFCCP reviews applicant data. In this two-part series, we will examine the ways in which companies can more effectively control the applicant data they provide to OFCCP. In this first article, we will give some background on the way that OFCCP reviews applicant data and we will discuss some basic ways to limit applicant data that is provided to OFCCP. In part 2 of this series, we will deal with some of the more complex issues regarding the ways contractors can limit applicant data.
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Source: LocalJobNetwork.com
This information is intended to be
educational and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter.
