Employment Law Report

By Michelle D. Wyrick

The federal government’s stimulus plan spending has resulted in an increase in federal contracting, which has in turn caused an increase in affirmative action enforcement efforts. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) is authorized to conduct compliance reviews to ensure that contractors who received funds under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“ARRA”) comply with affirmative action requirements contained in Executive Order 11246, as amended, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended. The OFCCP expects to conduct at least 450 compliance evaluations of new and existing contractors over the next year, although the OFCCP will track its ARRA-related enforcement activities separately from its other enforcement activities. The OFCCP has posted its directive on procedures for scheduling and conducting compliance evaluations of ARRA-funded contractors at http://www.dol.gov/esa/ofccp/arra_data/ARRA_Directive_Transmittal288.pdf.  It has also posted a corresponding document containing frequently asked questions at http://www.dol.gov/esa/ofccp/arra_data/ARRA_FAQs.pdf.