The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) Contractor Portal will open on March 31, 2023, for covered federal contractors to certify compliance with affirmative action program (AAP) requirements for this year.  Federal contractors and subcontractors must certify on the Contractor Portal annually regardless of whether they are developing a new or maintaining an existing AAP for each establishment or business unit, as applicable. Existing federal contractors must certify their compliance through the portal between March 31- June 29, 2023. An enhancement has been made to the portal where contractors must provide the start date of their AAP Coverage Period when certifying. New federal contractors have 120 days to develop their AAP(s) and certify compliance through the Contractor Portal within 90 days of developing their AAP(s). To accommodate this timeline, the Contractor Portal will remain open after June 29, 2023. The OFCCP has posted a pre-recorded webinar with more information to the Contractor Portal landing page. This instructional webinar will show how contractors can enter information on their establishment’s AAP start date. If you have not registered on the Contractor Portal, you can do so here starting on March 31, 2023. Helpful information about the Contractor Portal can be accessed here.

U.S. DOL Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs sent this bulletin at 10/20/2022 04:31 PM EDT The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) will host a webinar on November 17, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. (EST) to provide an overview of Functional Affirmative Action Programs (FAAP), convey recent changes to its FAAP Directive, and answer program-related questions. To ensure that OFCCP addresses common areas of interest during the webinar, registrants may submit questions in advance using the registration link below by November 5, 2022. Registration for the webinar will close on November 16, 2022 and is limited to the first 1,000 participants.  FAAP Directive 2013-01, Revision 3-Webinar Registration Form OFCCP revised the existing FAAP Directive on September 21, 2022. Directive 2013-01, Revision 3, establishes policies and procedures for requesting, modifying, and renewing FAAP agreements that enable federal contractors and subcontractors the opportunity to organize affirmative action programs to reflect how the entity operates functionally, rather than where its facilities and employees are physically located. This revision provides clarification regarding procedural requirements, in addition to minor language and formatting changes, that continue to provide for a FAAP process that is efficient, fluid, and collaborative. Any contractor that enters a FAAP agreement or modifies or renews a current agreement on or after the effective date is subject to the revised Directive. Additional information, including FAAP Frequently Asked Questions and contact information, is available on OFCCP’s webpage dedicated to the agency’s FAAP program. Contractors who are interested in requesting a FAAP agreement or who have questions regarding their current FAAP agreement may contact the Branch of National Programs at OFCCP_FAAP-UNIT@dol.gov or (202) 693-1125.

U.S. DOL Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs sent this bulletin at 09/22/2022 02:52 PM EDT The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has issued a revision to the existing Functional Affirmative Action Programs (FAAP) Directive. Directive 2013-01, Revision 3 establishes policies and procedures for requesting, modifying, and renewing FAAP agreements. The revised Directive provides clarification regarding procedural requirements, in addition to minor language and formatting changes, that continue to provide for a FAAP process that is efficient, fluid, and collaborative. Any contractor that enters a FAAP agreement or modifies or renews current agreement on or after the effective date is subject to the revised Directive. OFCCP encourages the use of FAAPs to enable federal contractors and subcontractors the opportunity to organize affirmative action programs to reflect how the entity operates functionally, rather than where its facilities and employees are physically located. Contractors may find FAAPs provide a more efficient way to organize and analyze affirmative action data, and may also allow the contractor to better tailor initiatives in response to their assessment. Additionally, contractors have the flexibility to utilize both FAAPs and establishment-based AAPs for different parts of their organizations. Any federal supply and service contractor or subcontractor subject to OFCCP’s jurisdiction may request an agreement that allows for the development and use of a FAAP. When a contractor requests a FAAP agreement, the contractor is assigned a dedicated OFCCP FAAP Manager to assist with the process. FAAP agreements are valid for a period of five years and may be renewed, prior to expiration, if the contractor certifies in writing whether there have been any changes to functional or business units, structure or organization, or other circumstances affecting the existing FAAP agreement. Additional information, including FAAP FAQs and contact information, is available on OFCCP’s webpage dedicated to the agency’s FAAP program. OFCCP will host a webinar in the near future on FAAPs and to discuss the revised Directive. Contractors who are interested in requesting a FAAP agreement or who have questions regarding their current FAAP agreement may contact the Branch of National Programs at OFCCP_FAAP-UNIT@dol.gov or (202) 693-1125.

U.S. DOL Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs sent this bulletin at 09/15/2022 04:15 PM EDT The August 19, 2022, Federal Register notice provided a deadline of September 19, 2022, for contractors to submit written objections to disclosure of the requested Type 2 EEO-1 Report data. 87 FR 51145. OFCCP is extending this deadline to October 19, 2022, to ensure that covered contractors have time to ascertain whether they are covered and submit objections. There are multiple reasons for the extension, including the following. First, since publication of that notice, numerous contractors and contractor representatives have contacted the agency requesting an extension of time to submit objections. Additionally, since the publication of the original notice, some federal contractors have raised questions regarding their efforts to verify whether they are included in the universe of Covered Contractors during the requested timeframe. To address this second issue, OFCCP will also take the additional step of emailing contractors that OFCCP believes are covered by this Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, using the email address provided by contractors that have registered in OFCCP’s Contractor Portal and the email addresses provided as a contact for the EEO-1 report. If you are not the appropriate contact for this notice, please forward this message to the appropriate department within your organization to ensure your company files a response by the deadline. Background In 2019, OFCCP received a FOIA request for Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Report data submitted by federal contractors and first-tier subcontractors. In June 2022, the FOIA request was amended to include all such data submitted by contractors and first-tier subcontractors from 2016 until 2020. Consistent with the U.S. Department of Labor’s disclosure regulations at 29 CFR 70.26(j), OFCCP is providing notice to contractors covered by this FOIA request through a published Notice in the Federal Register, an e-mail to all federal contractors for whom OFCCP has contact information, and this website. The Federal Register Notice provides specific instructions and a list of questions that should be addressed by those contractors who wish to object to the disclosure of their Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Report data. To facilitate contractors’ written objections and the agency’s assessment of them, OFCCP has created the Submitter Notice Response Portal, to collect relevant information from contractors and their representatives that wish to object to the release of the requested data. Additional guidance regarding the FOIA request is also available on this page. Use of Response Data Collected  The responses collected from this web form will be evaluated to determine whether the requested information includes confidential trade secret, commercial, or financial information that should be withheld pursuant to FOIA Exemption 4. Frequently Asked Questions Visit the OFCCP’s Submitter Notice Response Portal for frequently asked questions. New Timeline To be considered, OFCCP must receive all objections by October 19, 2022. Contact the OFCCP National FOIA Office You may contact the OFCCP FOIA Help Desk by phone or email with any questions related to this process that we have not covered in our frequently asked questions. When calling about technical issues or other questions, please

U.S. DOL Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs sent this bulletin at 08/18/2022 09:06 AM EDT Today, August 18, 2022, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs published a revised Directive, “Advancing Pay Equity Through Compensation Analysis,” to clarify its guidance and explain how the agency reviews contractors’ documentation of compliance. The revised Directive states that in order to determine that a contractor has satisfied its obligation to conduct a compensation analysis, OFCCP requires certain documentation to demonstrate compliance. Three things to know about the revised Directive: It explicitly reaffirms the agency’s position that it does not require the production of attorney-client privileged communications or attorney work product. It identifies the documentation that OFCCP requires from a contractor to determine that the contractor has satisfied its obligation to perform a compensation analysis. It explains the documentation required from a contractor when its compensation analysis identifies problem areas to demonstrate that it has implemented action-oriented programs. OFCCP Director Jenny R. Yang provides further insight in her August 18, 2022, blog post. OFCCP welcomes feedback and identification of areas across the agency’s work where additional guidance or clarification would be valuable. With today’s revised Directive, OFCCP demonstrates its commitment to working with federal contractors to address gender and racial pay inequality.