OFCCP 2007 Financial Remedies Posted

By Chris Lindholm, Director, Biddle Consulting Group

OFCCP has posted their 2007 revenue figures. Here is the headline:

"OFCCP Once Again Produces Record Financial Remedies for a Record Number of American Workers in FY 07"

With numbers exceeding $50 million in consecutive years, the Federal contracting world should be on notice that OFCCP has discovered a bonanza of low hanging fruit with the contractors they are auditing. As consultants, Biddle Consulting Group is very familiar with OFCCP desk audits and we can tell the public with absolute certainty that the most significant findings for OFCCP are in recordkeeping. Contractors around the country continue to struggle when it comes to managing data associated with the hiring process. Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are making an impact but far too few organizations have good protocols in place for tracking applicants from initial interest to hire.

Additionally, OFCCP is continuing their quest to find systemic discrimination in pay within the contractors they are auditing and while recordkeeping may be the biggest payoff for OFCCP right now, interest in pay equity has not waned.

To see the OFCCP announcement click on the link below.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/ofccp/enforc07.pdf

Clarifying the Updated EEO-1 Race Requirements

By Shelli Johnson, Analyst, Biddle Consulting Group

The EEOC, in consultation with the OFCCP, has revised the EEO-1 report effective September 2007. This means that the September 2008 EEO – 1 filing and beyond will require the reporting of 7 race categories instead of the previously stipulated 5 race categories. The 7 race categories include Hispanic or Latino, White (Not Hispanic or Latino), Black or African American (Not Hispanic or Latino), Asian (Not Hispanic or Latino), American Indian or Alaska Native (Not Hispanic or Latino), Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (Not Hispanic or Latino), and Two or More Races (Not Hispanic or Latino). There is currently no requirement to conduct a costly resurvey of your entire work force. However, employers will need to track these new race categories with their new applicants and hires. Self Identification forms moving forward will need to include a two question component with the first question being “Are you Hispanic or Latino?” If the answer is yes, they do not move on to the following 6 race categories. If the answer is No, they can then complete one of the 6 remaining race categories. The two or more race and Hispanic/Non-Hispanic differentiator was a political decision which does not allow Hispanics to be considered in the two or more race category. BCG suggests resurveying your entire work force by having employees fill out the new self-identification forms at a cost effective time period such as to coincide with yearly performance appraisals or a change in HR systems.

Another common misconception regarding race categories includes the placement of Native South Americans as Hispanic or Latino when in fact they should be categorized as Native Americans.

Interim guidance has been given by the OFCCP as to how to calculate Adverse Impact analyses within affirmative action plans in light of the new race categories, specifically two or more races. The guidance suggests that either the 7-race category system may be used with the two or more race category becoming its own, separate, and indivisible sub group or employers may continue to use the classic 5-race category system. In continuing to use the classic 5-race category system employers would need to collect and retain two separate sets of data. For example, for EEO-1 reporting an employee may identify as two or more races, but when using the 5 race category system a primary race would need to be retained separately for the AAP adverse impact analyses. This development should be watched closely for guidance because of potentially severe financial and political implications.

Recent Webinars Provided by Biddle Consulting Group

By Shana Larrucea, Consultant, Biddle Consulting Group

BCG’s Series of Free EEO Webinars

In 2007, Biddle Consulting Group (BCG) offered a series of free webinars on timely topics such as the Definition of an Internet Applicant, OFCCP Audit Strategies, Understanding Adverse Impact, and Proper Compensation Analyses. For those of you who were not able to attend the webinars, some highlights of each are listed below.

The OFCCP Audit Process

• Before submitting your AAP, repair all inaccurate, wrong, or incomplete data.
• Perform adverse impact analyses on all transactions.
• Perform the OFCCP Red Flag Analysis on compensation.
• Document and emphasize all EEO “Good Things”.
• Prepare a professional and professional-looking AAP.
• Consider performing a pre-audit “mock audit”.
• Ensure all job openings are being registered with state agencies.
• Know your auditor and his/her timeframe for decisions.
• Document all conversations with reviewers.

Adverse Impact Analyses

• Collect and retain all required transaction data (applicants, hires, promotions, terminations).
• Analyze your data regularly throughout the year.
• If impact is discovered, can the data be refined? Is the appropriate analysis being conducted? In which step of the process does the impact occur?

Current Compensation Practices

• Conduct internal proactive analyses with the support of the executive staff and legal team (under Attorney-Client Privilege).
• Missing data can easily undermine the analyses.
• Flip-flops in disparities may mean your organization does not systemically discriminate.
• Statistics are cold and should be supported by anecdotal evidence.

Definition of an Internet Applicant

• Keep good documentation of every aspect of the applicant process.
• Create consistently implemented company selection procedures and/or protocol.
• Create a voluntary self-ID form that encourages applicants to complete upon submittal of application.
• Establish a requisition number for each open position in the organization.
• Track status of each job seeker in the applicant process.
• Create codes to identify decisions and reasons.

Come to http://www.biddle.com/ to see our schedule of free presentations in 2008.