The Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has mailed “advance notice” letters to approximately 800 federal contractor establishments, notifying them that they have been flagged for a compliance evaluation during the agency’s current scheduling cycle, which began on October 1, 2016, and runs through September 30, 2017.
This is the first mailing of advance notice letters — officially referred to as corporate scheduling announcement letters (CSALs) — since November 2014, and renews a practice that many contractors found to be helpful.
As in the past, before they were suspended by former OFCCP Director Patricia Shiu, CSALs have been sent directly to each of the individual establishments flagged for an audit, rather than to corporate headquarters. The letters are addressed to either the human resources director or a designated point of contact at each establishment.
Contractors can obtain a list of establishments scheduled for review by submitting a written request on company letterhead to the Division of Program Operations at OFCCP-DPO-Scheduling@dol.gov.
OFCCP also has updated its frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding CSALs and the Federal Contractor Selection System (FCSS) that the agency uses to generate the CSAL list. Notably, the updated FAQs now indicate that the purpose of the CSAL is to actually provide advance notice by stating that each contractor will get “at least one month advance notice” to prepare for the audit. This would be a significant improvement over OFCCP’s past practice, in which contractors often received an audit scheduling letter at the same time or even before the CSAL arrived.
Members of the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC) can read more here.