By: Evan Szarenski
On December 12, 2023, OFCCP published a notice in the Federal Register requesting comments on the renewal of its Information Collection Request (ICR) for the Contractor Portal. This is the first step to extend the expiration date of its authority for the Contractor Portal, which is currently set to expire August 31, 2024.
In its supporting statement, OFCCP proposes one change to the ICR, which is to collect the Unique Entity ID (UEI) for each parent company and establishment. The UEI has replaced the DUNS number as the authorized identifier for federal contractors. Per the ICR Supporting Statement, the DUNS number will remain as a data field in the contractor portal in addition to the UEI field. OFCCP states that this is to assist contractors who may still be transitioning from DUNS to UEI. Contractors should be prepared to provide the UEI and do not need to provide both.
OFCCP estimates that it will take each contractor an average of eight (8) total minutes each year to certify in the Contractor Portal. While this may seem comically low, it is actually two (2) minutes longer than OFCCP’s previous estimate.
This renewal would reauthorize the approval to permit, but not require, contractors to submit AAPs through the Contractor Portal in the event of an audit. This functionality was previously approved, but OFCCP has never implemented the functionality. There is no indication when this functionality may be available.
Comments on the ICR are open until February 12, 2024 and can be submitted here. OFCCP will consider these comments and then submit the ICR (with any changes) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. After OFCCP submits its proposal to OMB, stakeholders will have an additional 30 days to submit comments. OMB will then review the proposal and comments, and either grant the extension (possibly with requested changes) or deny the extension.
We do not anticipate that this renewal request will impact the 2024 certification period. DCI will continue to monitor the status of this proposal and provide updates.
