Are You On The OFCCP List For An Audit?

OFCCP Releases New List of Contractor Establishments Slated for Likely Audits

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has sent out a new wave of Corporate Scheduling Announcement Letters (CSAL) to the corporate office of employers.

During the week of March 9, 2009, the OFCCP made available to its regional offices a list of approximately 5,000 facilities eligible for compliance review. An actual audit will be initiated by the employers’ receipt of a scheduling letter. An employer will have 30 days from the receipt of the letter to submit its affirmative action plan to the OFCCP. The OFCCP has indicated that depending on the workload of individual OFCCP offices, not all of the establishments listed on an individual company’s CSAL may actually be reviewed.

Excluded Facilities

Excluded from this new scheduling list are facilities that are: the subject of a Corporate Management Compliance Evaluation (CMCE); currently undergoing a compliance review; covered by a Functional Affirmative Action Plan (FAAP) agreement; have been the subject of a compliance review within the past two years; or have received either the Secretary of Labor’s Opportunity Award or an Exemplary Voluntary Efforts Award within the last three years.

Limits to Number of Reviews

The OFCCP limits the number of new compliance reviews a single contractor may receive to 25 facilities during the OFCCP’s scheduling cycle. It is important to note that CMCEs, FAAP audits, contract pre-award audits, directed reviews, audits initiated as a result of conciliation agreement monitoring or a credible report to the OFCCP of an alleged violation of laws or regulations are not counted toward this limit. The OFCCP also has indicated that for a number of reasons (e.g., establishments not clearly associated with a parent corporation), companies may still receive compliance reviews of establishments not listed on the CSAL.

What Should You Do Now?

The CSAL is addressed to a company’s chief executive officer (or other designated point of contact). Therefore, you should immediately advise the chief executive officer’s office to be “on the lookout” for any letters from the OFCCP so the company can immediately begin to focus its resources on any impending compliance reviews.

You should review your Affirmative Action Plan now to make sure it is in compliant. This is something that Lowden & Associates, Inc can assist you with. Receipt of the CSAL provides an excellent opportunity to review closely your affirmative action plans for those facilities listed on the CSAL before the OFCCP initiates compliance audits. Employers should pay particular attention to adverse impact trends and pay disparities. Investigating such trends now will allow employers to address potential vulnerabilities prior to OFCCP involvement. As many of you know, the OFCCP has been investigating aggressively adverse impact and pay disparity “red flags” that may lead to substantial monetary settlements.