In the latest development in a case that now dates back nearly seven years and counting, a Department of Labor (DOL) administrative law judge (ALJ) has rejected a federal contractor’s challenge to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ (OFCCP) compliance review scheduling process and authority.
The ALJ’s ruling, which reaches the same result as an earlier ruling in the same case by a different ALJ in late 2015, concludes that a series of 16 compliance reviews of various facilities of the Convergys company were lawfully scheduled. OFCCP had initiated formal enforcement proceedings against Convergys after the company turned down the agency’s demand to submit to desk audits, claiming that OFCCP’s scheduling process violated the company’s rights under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Before proceeding, we should note that this case presents a classic example of the excruciating length of time and resources that a formal OFCCP enforcement action can take before (if ever) reaching a final resolution, as well as the major hurdles a contractor can encounter in challenging OFCCP’s authority, and underscores why it is much more typical for a contested action to result in a settlement.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.