Redstone Government Consulting Blog | Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs

It is no secret that money plays a significant role in attracting, motivating, and retaining employees; however, recent studies and our experience show that a holistic approach to total compensation is key to success in today’s market. A 2016 study by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) found that pay was the second most important factor of job satisfaction. Many employers focus on the numbers behind the dollar sign, but total compensation goes beyond the paycheck. Total compensation, as defined by Indeed, refers to the total value an organization offers an employee in exchange for their work, including their salary and any benefits or incentives. In addition to these elements, intangible factors like company culture, engagement, wellness, development, and recognition should also be considered as features of total compensation.

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has been busy since the start of fiscal year 2023, which began on October 1, 2022. Since this time, they have completed over fifteen investigations that have resulted in large settlements totaling more than ten million dollars. Many of the investigations centered around discrimination in hiring and compensation.

What is the Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL)?

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?

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.