Redstone Government Consulting Blog | Sheri Buchanan (2)

Overview

• The 2021 EEO-1 data collection period closed on May 17, 2022, but there’s still time to file your report if you missed the deadline!
• The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFFCP) has released a new Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL) for Supply and Service Contractors.
• Covered federal contractors must certify their Affirmative Action Plans (AAP) through the OFCCP Contractor Portal by June 30, 2022. Please contact our HR Team if you need assistance with your AAP or the certification process.
• The US House of Representatives passed the CROWN Act on March 18, 2022.
  

In the previous blog of this series, we focused on the requirements of federal government contractors (prime and subcontractors) who meet the basic threshold requirements (specific dollar thresholds and fewer than 50 employees). As we progress in this series on OFCCP and Affirmative Action Requirements, we begin to dive into OFCCP’s expectations of a contractor’s Affirmative Action Program (AAP). As a reminder, contractors are required to have an AAP when meeting the dollar thresholds mentioned above and have an employee count of 50 or more.

Overview

• The 2022 Annual Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) national hiring benchmark was recently updated on the VEVRAA Hiring Benchmark Database.
• Component 1 EEO-1 reports are due May 17, 2022. The Redstone GCI HR team can support you with preparing and filing your EEO-1 report. Please contact us today if you are in need of assistance.
• Covered federal contractors must certify their Affirmative Action Plans (AAP) through the OFCCP Contractor Portal by June 30, 2022. Please contact our HR Team if you need assistance with your AAP or the certification process.
• The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs issued a new directive (DIR 2022-02) that is intended to promote effective enforcement of the equal employment opportunity laws that the agency enforces.
• The Department of Homeland Security has announced updates regarding the I-9 form and its verification Beginning May 1, 2022, DHS will no longer allow employers to accept expired List B Documents for form I-9 verification. If an employee presented an expired List B document between May 1, 2020, and April 30, 2022, employers are required to update their I-9 forms by July 31, 2022. DHS has provided a helpful table that explains the updated requirements.
• The current version of the I-9 form expires on October 1, 2022. DHS plans to “re-vamp” the form with several goals in mind:
  • Compressing Sections 1 and 2 from two pages to one page to reduce paper use.
  • Moving Section 3 to a separate Reverification and Rehire Supplement.
  • Updating the List of Acceptable Documents to include a link to List C documents (on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website) issued by DHS.
  • Reducing and simplifying the form's instructions from 15 pages to 7 pages.
  • Removing electronic PDF enhancements to ensure that the form can be completed on all electronic devices. 
• It is expected that the US Department of Labor (DOL) will publish a proposed overtime rule in the very near future.
• An Appeals Court recently upheld a COVID-19 Vaccination Directive that requires federal workers to be vaccinated.
• EEOC leaders recently discussed four areas that they aim to focus on in 2022. These areas include:
  • COVID-19 Mandates
  • Diversity and Tech
  • DEI Demographics Audits
  • Disability Rights
• The EEOC recently released a technical assistance document regarding Caregiver Discrimination due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
  

The last blog in this series focused on who (what) OFCCP is, what they require of contractors of various sizes and why compliance is important. Now we want to provide a bit more clarity as to what these requirements are and later in the series, how those requirements impact your processes and policies.

Overview

• The 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection is scheduled to open April 12, 2022 with a deadline of May 17, 2022 to file the report.
• OFCCP’s Affirmative Action Plan Certification period begins March 31 and ends June 30. Covered contractors must certify their AAP in the new Contractor Portal.
• The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ruled on March 14, 2022 that the Biden Administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act when it delayed and then withdrew the Trump era Independent Contractor Rule. Accordingly, the Court ruled that the Contractor Status Rule became effective on its original effective date, March 8, 2021.
• The Department of Labor announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to update the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts.
• The US Department of Labor released a field assistance bulletin (FAB) regarding specific examples of what constitutes unlawful retaliation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and visa programs.
• The EEOC has updated its question-and-answer COVID guidance, this time with information about Title VII’s prohibition on religious discrimination in the context of religious accommodations to workplace vaccination requirements. This new guidance helps employers better understand the process of reviewing requests for religious accommodations and when and how to grant them.
• The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) released a new directive (DIR 2022-01) regarding pay equity audits.
  

• On March 31, 2022, the OFCCP issued Directive 2022-02 in an effort to “promote greater contractor compliance” by “conducting comprehensive compliance evaluations” in a timely manner, promoting contractor’s self-audit of systems, implementing cross-regional approach to multi-establishment reviews and promoting communication with contractors.

As mentioned in a previous blog, OFCCP’s Contractor Portal, we are kicking off a blog series related to OFCCP and Affirmative Action requirements for contractors of all sizes. We begin this series by laying the groundwork of who (or what) OFCCP is and what affirmative action is. This series will focus on supply and service contractors; however, construction contractors may also find it helpful. Regardless of the type of contractor, our HR Team is available to assist with all of your OFCCP compliance and Affirmative Action Program (AAP) needs.

What is it?

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) Affirmative Action Program Verification Interface (AAP-VI), or “Contractor Portal” is a new platform to be used by covered government contractors (prime and subcontractors) to:

• Annually certify that they are complying with the requirement to develop and maintain annual Affirmative Action Plans (AAP).
• Upload Affirmative Action Plans and other requested materials during an OFCCP compliance evaluation.

Overview

• The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury have jointly released information to help answer common questions relating to the coverage of at-home covid tests by group health plans. 
• President Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) on Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects for federal construction projects valued at $35 million or more. 
• On February 1, the US DOL announced plans to hire 100 Investigators “to support its Wage and Hour Division’s compliance efforts.”
• A large automotive employer will pay $600,000 to settle a class-action lawsuit due to their issuance of deficient COBRA notices. 
• Congress has passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act for sexual assault and harassment cases. 

Overview

• The US Supreme Court blocked the OSHA vaccine and testing mandate for large private employers.
• The Federal Contractor mandate established by EO 14042 is still subject to a nationwide injunction entered by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia on December 7, 2021. This injunction has been appealed to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals by the Biden Administration. This injunction ordered the federal government to temporarily stop enforcement of the COVID vaccine mandate for federal contractors.  
• Effective January 30, 2022, the federal contractor minimum wage will be increased to $15 per hour for covered employees working on covered contracts.
• Contractors will be able to register for the OFCCP’s new Contractor Portal on February 1, 2022.
• The 2021 EEO-1 Data Collection period is tentatively set to open on April 12, 2022.
• Group health plans and insurers must cover or reimburse in full for over-the-counter COVID-19 tests.