OFCCP has three major regulation updates planned for their 2016 fiscal year.  Federal contractors and subcontractors should keep these in mind while updating and implementing their Affirmative Action Plans (AAPs).

Equal Pay Report

A final rule implementing this report is expected in May 2016.  The new requirement stems from President Obama’s memorandum “Advancing Pay Equality through Compensation Data Collection.” That memo directed the Secretary of Labor to propose a rule for collecting compensation information from Federal contractors and subcontractors.  In its currently proposed form, the report would collect:

  • W-2 Wage information by sex, race, ethnicity and EEO-1 job category
  • Hours worked and number of employees
  • Industry information

Sex Discrimination Guidelines

Initially slated for December 2015, a final rule seems more likely to appear in early 2016 (at the time of publication).  The current guidelines on sex discrimination in the Affirmative Action regulations are over 30 years old.  The new guidelines will be updated to account for decades of case law and legal interpretation.  Key provisions of the proposed rule include:

  • Adding protections for pregnant women
  • Prohibiting job steering based on sex as a form of compensation discrimination
  • Requiring childcare leave to be available for men on the same terms as it is for women

Construction Contractor AAPs

The Affirmative Action regulations for construction contractors were last updated in 1980.  While OFCCP has sought to update these rules previously, those efforts have taken a backseat while OFCCP strongly pursues pay equity.  A set of proposed rules is expected in May 2016.  OFCCP’s goals are to:

  • Remove outdated provisions
  • Define a new method for establishing goals
  • Add new provisions that reflect current employment and labor conditions

While none of these proposed rules currently require changes to existing Affirmative Action Plans, covered employers should monitor OFCCP’s. Stay tuned to HudsonMann’s OFCCP Compliance Updates to keep up-to-date with the latest in Affirmative Action compliance.