OFCCP’s heavy-handed approach to enforcement during the Obama Administration did not reveal significantly more discrimination violations than the less aggressive approach employed in the past. Indeed, a 2016 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that OFCCP finds discrimination violations in only about 2% of the audits the agency conducts annually, and finds no violations at all in about 78%. Notably, the GAO also recommended that OFCCP make changes to its audit scheduling process to focus compliance efforts on contractors with “the greatest risk of not following equal employment opportunity and affirmative action requirements.”
OFCCP’s enforcement data are an obvious source of potential guidance as the agency moves forward under a new administration. And although federal contractors may welcome the agency’s recent shift to putting greater focus on compliance assistance, they will still be subject to compliance evaluations to determine whether they are meeting OFCCP requirements.
NT Lakis attorneys have analyzed enforcement trends and audit results over the last twelve years to assess what OFCCP’s “return on investment” has been. Based on this analysis, we have offered suggestions as to how the agency might use its own data to set priorities going forward.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.