Redstone Government Consulting Blog | Human Resources (4)

Oftentimes when supporting the production of cost volumes and pricing exercises for clients, we’re given a basis of estimate (BOE) that has been written by someone on the technical team. Even being a group of accounting and compliance professionals who know little in areas such as cyber, engineering, or other technical areas of the scope of work, we’re left scratching our heads. This usually leads to several back-and-forth discussions centered around gleaning enough information from the technical team to pass the proverbial government “sniff test”.

This article is under review as a result of EO 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, signed by President Trump on January 21, 2025. As we await further information from OFCCP and the courts, please reference this article for current status and action items.

The Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued the FY 2023 Corporate Scheduling Announcement List, commonly referred to as a CSAL on January 20, 2023. This list includes 500 supply & service contractors selected for an Establishment Review, Corporate Management Compliance Evaluation (CMCE), or Functional Affirmative Action Program (FAAP) review. These reviews help determine whether a covered contractor maintains records consistent with their obligations under OFCCP’s laws, has correctly certified in the GSA’s System for Award Management database and has established Affirmative Action Programs (AAP) at each establishment.

On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-1 on proposed regulations that, if upheld, would ban employers from imposing non-competition agreements on their employees. Relying on Section 5 of the FTC Act, the FTC concluded that “non-compete clauses reduce competition in labor markets, suppressing earnings and opportunity even for workers who are not directly subject to a non-compete.” Commissioner Wilson dissented, stating that the FTC lacks the authority to engage in rulemaking, particularly with consequences of this significance. 

This article is under review as a result of EO 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, signed by President Trump on January 21, 2025. As we await further information from OFCCP and the courts, please reference this article for current status and action items.

In this uber competitive labor market, it is more crucial than ever to be creative with compensation and benefits. Compensation programs and retention strategies have expanded beyond base compensation and bonus to include all methods in which employees are rewarded and incentivized. As a Federal Government Contractor, it is especially important to understand the FAR requirements which may impact compensation decisions and to document all processes and procedures related to your compensation program.

This article is under review as a result of EO 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, signed by President Trump on January 21, 2025. As we await further information from OFCCP and the courts, please reference this article for current status and action items.

Throughout this series, we’ve explored the fundamentals of compliance with the regulations administered by the Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and many of the components of a written Affirmative Action Plan. In this final blog of the series, we will answer a question frequently asked of us…What do you do with all this information?

This article is under review as a result of EO 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, signed by President Trump on January 21, 2025. As we await further information from OFCCP and the courts, please reference this article for current status and action items.

As mentioned throughout this series on Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and Affirmative Action (AA), recordkeeping is essential. A particularly important component when developing your AAP , as shown in a previous blog, is Applicant Flow (i.e., records pertaining to each “applicant”). When working with clients, we find that this tends to be the most complex and often confusing information requested. Following are answers to some of the most common questions we are regularly asked:

Did You Know that Over 60,000 Charges of Workplace Discrimination Were Filed in the Fiscal Year 2021?

When an employer receives an EEOC Charge of Discrimination, they need to take it very seriously and thoughtfully consider how to prepare a response, which is referred to as a Position Statement. Businesses of all sizes need to understand the ramifications of an EEOC Charge, and to establish policies and procedures to respond to charges and to reduce the likelihood of being charged with discrimination, harassment or retaliation. There are a variety of laws enforced by the EEOC, including:

This video and article are the second of a two-part series where we provide an overview of the position of the Department of Labor (DoL) on independent contractor classifications. This series presents a mock audit to give you a first-hand perspective of the types of questions that Department of Labor investigators ask with regard to the all too common issue of whether or not your workers are properly classified under the law. We will provide "red flags" that are often key to the final determination of the Department of Labor and how to address them.

This article is under review as a result of EO 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, signed by President Trump on January 21, 2025. As we await further information from OFCCP and the courts, please reference this article for current status and action items.

We hope that the previous blogs have provided a solid explanation as to what an Affirmative Program is and who the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is. The requirement to maintain a written plan/s and ensure all action items noted within the plan are being executed can be a daunting task. As we begin to steer away from the basics of what the various requirements and components of a written plan are, we will begin to dive into helpful tips and best practices. As shown in the diagram from a previous blog in this series, the establishment of Job Groups and Activity records are critical to establishing a valid Affirmative Action Plan and are therefore worth focusing on.