In a noteworthy development, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) under which the agency would formally disavow any jurisdiction over certain health care entities that provide supplies and services to participants in TRICARE, the Department of Defense’s (DOD) medical insurance and benefit program.
The proposed rule is a reversal of the agency’s prior assertion that it had jurisdiction over TRICARE providers despite opposition to that claim by both members of Congress and DOD itself. Notably, we are not aware of any prior circumstance in which OFCCP has voluntarily surrendered its claim to jurisdiction, much less via formal rulemaking.
The proposal would still assert OFCCP jurisdiction over TRICARE providers that have other direct federal contracts or subcontracts outside of the TRICARE program.
Comments are due to OFCCP by December 6, 2019.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.