OFCCP released its FY2022 Congressional Budget Justification earlier this month, calling for a $35 million increase in funding to hire, train, and equip almost 200 additional staff. In addition, OFCCP says the increased funding is needed to support other agency initiatives such as revitalizing construction enforcement, the rolling out of the Affirmative Action Program Verification Interface (AAP-VI), developing initiatives to advance racial equity at work, and modernizing agency technology. Below are highlights of each of these major initiatives.
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- Requested increase in number of allowed staff from 451 full time employees to 639
- Resources to onboard and train new compliance officers
- Resources to complete the upgrade to OFCCP’s case management system
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- Focus on equal employment opportunities and pay equity in the construction industry
- Launch an outreach and education campaign focused on construction contractor workplaces
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- Deploy the Notification Construction Award Portal (NCAP), which will allow electronic notification to the OFCCP of construction awards valued at $10,000 or more
- Deploy the Notification Construction Award Portal (NCAP), which will allow electronic notification to the OFCCP of construction awards valued at $10,000 or more
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- Implement and maintain portal for federal contractors and subcontractors to self-certify completion of their AAPs
- Portal would serve as a data transfer tool between contractors and OFCCP during audits
- If approved, use this data to assist in building a more effective scheduling process
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- Partner with experts to identify practices and initiatives that contribute to more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces
- Focus on racial equal employment opportunities (e.g., in pay, recruitment, hiring and advancement to senior and executive levels)
If the Biden administration’s budget figure for OFCCP is enacted, the agency would have its highest budget and staffing authorization in years. These additional resources would allow OFCCP to make progress on these initiatives, as seen in previous years. Recall that in FY2021, OFCCP successfully published new contractor compliance assistance materials, enhanced their help desk operations, and focused on comprehensive contactor compliance through the scheduling of focused reviews (these were halted under the new administration). DCI will continue to keep you informed on this topic.
By Zach Olsen, Consultant, and Keli Wilson, Principal Consultant
