The Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) and a federal contractor that provides security services to the State Department are engaged in a battle over whether the federal contractor was obligated to produce written affirmative action plans for certain sites. The OFCCP has asked an administrative law judge to order the federal contractor to produce the affirmative action plans or risk termination of its current federal contracts and debarment from future contracts. Meanwhile, the federal contractor appears to be steadfast in its position that it is not obligated to produce the affirmative action plans because the OFCCP failed to establish it had probable cause to commence compliance evaluations at 21 of its establishments in fiscal year 2011.
If you don’t already know, companies with federal contracts of $50,000 or more and more than 50 employees have obligations under Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Vietnam-Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act to develop, implement and maintain affirmative action plans (“AAPs”) for each establishment. Under the applicable regulations, when requested, a federal contractor is required to submit to the OFCCP the company’s annual AAP and supporting documentations for the facility selected for a compliance review.
In the case discussed above, the OFCCP notified the federal contractor via a scheduling letter that the agency had selected its Milwaukee, Wisconsin establishment for a compliance review. The federal contractor had previously received scheduling orders notifying it that its Portage, Indiana establishment was chosen for a compliance review. When compliance officers requested information from the federal contractor pursuant to the desk audit phase of the compliance reviews for the establishments, the federal contractor failed to provide copies of its AAPs and other supporting documents to the OFCCP. As stated above, the OFCCP filed a complaint with an administrative law judge asking the judge to order the federal contractor to produce the AAPs or risk termination of its federal contracts and debarrment from future federal work. The outcome should be interesting.
The attorneys at Harmon & Davies are here to assist you with your affirmative action plan and OFCCP compliance needs.
This article is authored by attorney Shannon O. Young and is intended for educational purposes and to give you general information and a general understanding of the law only, not to provide specific legal advice. Any particular questions should be directed to your legal counsel or, if you do not have one, please feel free to contact us.
