New ARRA Audit activity and a Warning for Federal Contractors

The OFCCP has hit the ground running with their new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) audit efforts. Many contractors are now receiving audit letters with specific needs under the ARRA initiative. Construction contractors are being asked for significant material under the ARRA audit format and Service and Supply contractors are receiving new letters as well. One difference we are seeing is that the Service and Supply contractors are receiving a standard desk audit letter with an additional letter stating that they were selected under the ARRA initiative. The desk audit letter for Service and Supply does not suggest that the OFCCP will conduct an automatic on-site review which conflicts with the defined structure of the ARRA plan so we will post updates as the audits progress.

An additional measure BCG has seen the OFCCP take is that the Compliance Officers are taking an extremely aggressive approach to collecting additional data/information during the audit. We are seeing OFCCP ask for responses to data requests within the same day (by Close of Business was the term used) and threatening to turn a desk audit into an on-site audit if the contractor does not comply. We have also seen OFCCP inform a contractor that the ARRA driven on-site audit would commence within less than one weeks notice. It is the belief of the BCG staff that these demands are related to the comments heard at National Industry Liaison Group where OFCCP stated that they were not pleased with the amount of resistance they were seeing to additional information requests. Also, OFCCP has a mandate to complete 450 ARRA audits by September 30, 2010.

Please see recent Blog posts and register for our free webinars at www.bcginstitute.org for all of the latest information on ARRA audits and OFCCP initiatives.

BCG Releasing All-New Compensation Analysis Software

*** PRESS RELEASE ***

Biddle Consulting Group, Inc.
Introduces New Compensation Analysis Software

Folsom, CA: Coming in November 2009, Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is releasing the all-new COMPARE 2.0, a powerful software application designed to assist Federal contractors and proactive organizations in conducting multiple regression analysis of their compensation data.

For over 30 years, BCG has been the industry leader in EEO software and service solutions for Federal contractors and many other organizations throughout the country. Having worked on hundreds of compensation analysis projects ranging from EEO litigation work to Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) audits, the BCG consulting team is uniquely qualified to produce an analytical tool that generates analyses that would be appropriate for both Title VII litigation and the OFCCP Guidelines.

COMPARE 2.0 is the most complete compensation analysis application on the market, specifically designed for basic and advanced analyses. The software features many functions and support options including:

• Training available at www.bcginstitute.org
• Software includes new companion book on Compensation written by BCG Ph.D.s
• Conduct advanced multiple regression analyses
• Calculate employer liability
• Run high volume analyses at the click of a button
• Customize thresholds for significance
• Simple data file preparation
• Customizable report output
• Run model diagnostics and correlations
• View warnings where analyses may violate assumptions

Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) Background

Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) specializes in Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) consulting, litigation support, personnel testing software development, and Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) technical support and software. Since 1974 (when known under the name Biddle & Associates), BCG has worked with over 1,000 employers in these areas, as well as providing litigation support as consultants or experts in over 200 EEO state, federal, and circuit court of appeal cases involving statistics and/or job-relatedness (test validity) analyses.

OFCCP Game Plan for ARRA Audits

As mentioned in a previous Blog, the OFCCP has rolled out their new ARRA audit letters and contractors are feeling the heat, especially construction contractors. The OFCCP is sending out the new audit letters with additional requirements that affect construction contractors and their subcontractors.

It can be helpful to know what the OFCCP's strategy is, and fortunately they have provided some information on their website under the following link:

http://www.dol.gov/esa/ofccp/OFCCPRecoveryActPlan.htm

A few highlights:

1. Conduct 450 ARRA driven reviews
2. Only 90 of which will be service and supply
3. 10% of the audits will be for new contractors
4. 360 of the 450 or 80% of the audits will be for construction contractors
5. Completion of all audits by September, 30, 2010
6. Conduct 150 reviews each quarter starting in Q3, 2009
7. OFCCP will host 120 compliance events including seminars and webinars
8. Prior to an award of $10 million or more, OFCCP will need to receive pre-award clearance request from the potential contractor
9. OFCCP will use an internal monitoring system to ensure that audit goals are met
10. Lorenzo Harrison of the national OFCCP office is the lead for monitoring the ARRA audit nationwide directive

Biddle Consulting Group is actively involved in supporting new ARRA driven audits. We will post information on the OFCCPs activities as they progress.