The Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has announced an expansion of its “Mega Construction Project Program” (MCPP), focused on federal construction contracts valued at $25 million and up and with a duration of one year or more. Although the MCPP was initially launched more than 25 years ago, OFCCP Director Patricia Shiu stated recently in conjunction with expansion of the program that “now is an opportune time to focus our efforts on construction contractor hiring, with increased construction activity resulting in an increase in demand for workers.”
Under the expanded MCPP, OFCCP has trained approximately 80 compliance officers across the country to gain special expertise in construction audits, dedicated additional resources, added a national coordinator, and is making MCPP a national priority.
Despite the announcement of the expanded MCPP, OFCCP still has not updated its construction regulations and has not set an updated timetable for doing so, even though this was announced as one of Director Shiu’s priorities shortly after she became OFCCP’s director. According to a new set of MCPP FAQs posted on the agency’s website, contractors are not reaching the goals for women and minorities even under the current construction regulations (unchanged since 1978), and updating the goals “would not likely increase the number of women and minorities gaining employment opportunities in the trades.”
Members of the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC) can read more here.