By: Evan Szarenski
On November 1, OFCCP announced that it is updating its complaint filing process. Now, potential complainants will have the option of submitting a pre-complaint inquiry before filing an official complaint.
A pre-complaint inquiry allows a potential complainant to share concerns about employment discrimination without filing an official complaint. OFCCP will be able then be able to review the pre-complaint inquiry to determine if it can investigate or if it should be referred to another federal agency. The filing of a pre-complaint inquiry does not extend the period of time a complainant has to file a complaint (180 days for allegations of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin discrimination or discrimination for discussing, disclosing or inquiring about pay; 300 days for disability or protected veteran status discrimination). OFCCP will not notify an employer if a pre-complaint inquiry is filed.
If an official complaint is filed, OFCCP will process it as the agency did under the old procedure. This includes notifying the employer of a complaint being filed. Complainants have the option to forgo the pre-complaint inquiry process and proceed directly to filing a complaint.
This new process should help to avoid some confusion that arose under the prior complaint procedure. Under the old procedure, employers would sometimes receive notice of a complaint being filed with OFCCP even if OFCCP had no jurisdiction over the complaint. OFCCP would then have to notify the employer that it was forwarding the complaint to another agency or closing the investigation altogether. While this still may happen if an individual skips the pre-complaint inquiry stage, OFCCP hopes the number of instances of this happening will decrease.
DCI will continue to monitor OFCCP developments as they occur.
