On April 29, 2019, OFCCP released an update regarding the Town Hall Action Plan created after the 2017-18 Compliance Assistance Town Halls and stakeholder meetings. The Compliance Assistance Town Halls serve as a space for contractors to provide feedback and openly discuss creative ideas aimed at helping OFCCP develop tools, resources and future policies. As a result of these meetings, 18 action items were identified under three major themes:
- Review and enhance contractor compliance assistance materials
- Assess and improve the quality of contractor and compliance officer training and education
- Increase transparency and communication with agency stakeholders
OFCCP is actively demonstrating that they are taking contractors’ suggestions and perspectives into account. For example, Directive 2018–08: Transparency in OFCCP Compliance Activities was released in September of 2018 and is a direct result of the 2017 action plan. The Action Plan Progress landing page displays the remaining action items and their respective stages in the implementation process. In the spirit of transparency and communication, contractors can see what items have been completed, what items are coming soon, and what’s in the development pipeline.
Overall, it seems that OFCCP is taking meaningful steps to implement the feedback of stakeholders and has already held several Town Halls in 2019. DCI is looking forward to keeping you updated on the continued implementation of action items, as well as any new items gathered from the 2019 Compliance Assistant Town Halls.
By Macy Cheeks, Associate Consultant at DCI Consulting Group
