Construction Contractors: OFCCP Proposes New Compliance Check Letters

OFCCP has developed a compliance check letter specifically for construction contractors, with a request for comment posted to the Federal Register earlier this week. The proposed information collection request (ICR) includes two compliance check letters, which differ depending on whether the construction contractor has a direct federal contract or only has federally assisted contracts. These compliance check letters should not be confused with the compliance check letter for supply & service contractors, which was previously in place for quite some time and, as recently discussed in a DCI blog, was dusted off for the 2019 CSAL locations.

The construction compliance checks will be more limited in nature than the full compliance review typically conducted and, according to the ICR supporting statement, will impose a much smaller contractor burden. OFCCP estimates that the average burden for response to the direct contract or federally assisted letters would be 8.5 or 5.5 hours respectively. If approved, OFCCP anticipates it will schedule a portion of the construction compliance evaluations in the form of a compliance check.

As stated in each letter, the compliance check will evaluate whether the selected contractor maintains employment records in accordance with the regulatory requirements. Letters will specify the area and time period under audit and request electronic submission (email requested) within 30 days. Alternatively, contractors can elect to have the records reviewed on site; a compliance officer will reach out within 5 days of the letter being received on this matter.

For construction contractors that have a direct federal contract, and meet the jurisdiction dollar thresholds for Executive Order 11246, VEVRAA, and Section 503, the proposed Construction Compliance Direct letter will be utilized, which includes the following itemized listing:

1. Personnel records that list employment activity, including name, job classification, sex, race and/or ethnic designation for each employee or applicant.
2. Payroll records for employees working in the defined area, including each employee's name or ID, sex, race/ethnicity, hire date, trade(s), total hours worked in each trade, overtime hours worked in each trade, wage rate(s) for each trade, apprenticeship status, and employment type (e.g., full-time, part-time, temporary, contract, per diem, day labor).
3. Examples of job advertisements and postings.
4. Documentation of accommodation requests received and their resolution, if any.
5. A copy of the current Section 503 AAP prepared in accordance with the requirements of 41 CFR § 60-741.40 through § 60-741.47.
6. A copy of the current VEVRAA AAP prepared in accordance with the requirements of 41 CFR § 60-300.40 through § 60-300.45.
7. Documentation of the computations or comparisons described in 41 CFR § 60-300.44(k) and § 60-741.44(k).
8. Documentation of the most recently adopted hiring benchmark (41 CFR § 60-300.45(c)).

For construction contractors whose sole coverage comes from federally-assisted construction projects, the proposed Construction Compliance Federally Assisted letter will be utilized. The compliance check letter requests only items 1-4 noted above.

Per the Paperwork Reduction Act, OFCCP is soliciting public comment on the proposed letters. Written comments must be submitted on or before June 7, 2019. Information for submitting comments electronically or by mail, hand delivery, courier, can be found on the Federal Register page.

By Amanda Bowman, Associate Principal Consultant at DCI Consulting Group