Directive 2019-03 aims to enhance the established, and well utilized, OFCCP Help Desk. Last year, Help Desk received over 2,600 inquiries and OFCCP aims to increase its efficiency. Help Desk is a compliance assistance tool designed for providing guidance, answering questions, and categorizing these questions into reference documents such as FAQs on OFCCP’s website. It is available to contractors by phone or email.
- OFCCP desires to enhance its Help Desk by making certain Help Desk inquires and responses dynamically available and searchable as a self‐service option on OFCCP’s website. This self‐service option would allow stakeholders to benefit from other stakeholders inquiries, for greater efficiencies in OFCCP Help Desk operations over time.
The Directive also details a new feature that is frequently used by the Department of Labor: Opinion Letters. Opinion letters are described as providing “fact-specific guidance…about OFCCP’s jurisdictional coverage or…regulatory authority.” They are not designed to provide legal advice or resolve unsettled legal matters. OFCCP is interested in using these letters to provide specific clarification on regulations or law to individual contractors, and also share them out to others, with consent from the letter writer.
Of particular interest, this Directive notes that it supersedes prior FCCM procedures, or other guidance, in instances where there is conflict.
By Rachel Monroe, Associate Consultant at DCI Consulting Group
