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Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Why An OFCCP AAP Must Be Complied

By Scott Martin


The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs requires qualified contractors and subcontractors to create an Affirmative Action Plan. An OFCCP AAP is required 120 days after a federal contract has been given to an employer. It is made to ensure that minorities, veterans, women, and PWDs are given equal access to employment opportunities like the rest of the workforce recruited by a specific employer.

All federal contractors with at least fifty employees are mandated to pass an AAP. Additionally, they must hold a contract amounting to at least fifty thousand dollars. Depositories of funds from the government and financial institutions serving as paying and issuing agents for savings notes and savings bonds are authorized to make this action plan.

Those who comply with the criteria mentioned above must also recruit and hire, as well as, track and analyze employment data and compensation through a method prescribed by the OFCCP. The OFCCP conducts random selection for audits of employers required to maintain AAPs. If violations are found during the evaluation, the OFCCP tries to make a resolution by giving the company a certain amount of time to correct its misconduct.

If the company still fails to comply even after this second chance, sanctions will be administered. Not only will they lose their government contract but the company will also be prohibited from doing any more businesses with government agencies. The victims will be compensated fairly. Additionally, the company might end up crippled after the lump sum of penalties and fees that it is liable to settle.

Comprehensive documentation of files and reports is crucial in case of an abrupt evaluation. Outreach efforts must be planned by contractors to attract qualified candidates that are PWDs and protected veterans. Employers must attain a benchmark of 7% for PWDs and 6.9% for protected veterans. Affiliating with organizations for veterans and PWDs can help them achieve this benchmark.

Moreover, results are expected of the outreach programs conducted by federal contractors. The total number of job openings and jobs filled, the total number of applicants for all jobs, the number of protected veteran applicants, the number of protected veterans hired, and the total figure of applicants hired comprise the list of documents that must be kept and updated annually. Documentation of these records must be kept intact for a time frame of three years.

AAPs must be customized according to the size of a company and the number of employees that it maintains. They must reflect the organizational structure, policies, practices, and programs employed by the contractor. Documents indicating employment policies and practices, as well as, materials involved in affirmative action efforts must be kept as evidence of compliance.

Federal contractors need to follow a long list of regulations in order to guarantee equal opportunities for everyone. Figures show that approximately four hundred hours is spent annually by large companies on regularly maintaining and updating their AAPs. The hours spent by administrative and management departments on tracking affirmative action programs accumulate to a grand total worth fifteen thousand dollars in resources.

To help expedite this entire process, the OFCCP offers information, seminars, and training programs to advise companies on the important list of things to know about complying with all their regulations. Of course, companies may also hire the services of management and legal teams to help them with their outreach programs and OFCCP compliance. Despite all the costs and labor that goes into efforts of reducing discrimination in the workforce, employers must genuinely reach out to these minorities to give them a chance at a better life through employment.




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