The word on the street is that OFCCP will mail its next round of Corporate Scheduling Announcement Letters (“CSALs”) to unlucky federal contractors this week. This is not a letter you want to receive, as it means your company has been targeted for an affirmative action compliance review.
What You Should Do
The first thing you should do is notify your local human resources personnel to be on the lookout for a CSAL from OFCCP. Although a compliance review does not technically begin until OFCCP sends the official scheduling letter, receipt of a CSAL means it’s extremely likely the scheduling letter will follow.
Once it has been determined that your company received a CSAL, you should begin preparing for the compliance review immediately. It is important to understand that when the official scheduling letter arrives, you will only have thirty days to respond to OFCCP’s standard audit requests. Responding to OFCCP’s standard audit requests means, among other things, providing copies of your affirmative action plans as well as raw data concerning your applicants, hires, promotions, terminations and employee compensation. Thirty days is typically not enough time to ensure your plans are in proper order or to confirm the accuracy of the raw data you will be required to disclose. Both are crucial steps if you are hoping to contain risk and have a smooth audit with as few follow-up requests from OFCCP as possible.
Should You Contest OFCCP’s Jurisdiction?
Receiving the CSAL in advance also gives you more time to consider whether your company has been appropriately selected for audit. OFCCP’s jurisdiction extends only to federal contractors and covered subcontractors. Whether a company is a federal contractor or covered subcontractor is not always easy to determine, especially in the health care industry where these definitions remain the subject of unresolved litigation. Whether in the health care industry or not, if you don’t believe your company is a federal contractor or covered subcontractor, you will want to have your reasons and supporting arguments prepared in advance. You will also want to have carefully considered the pros and cons of contesting OFCCP’s jurisdiction as OFCCP typically will not retreat easily. These are complicated questions and analyses that are best addressed with legal counsel experienced in OFCCP jurisdiction matters.
If you have questions regarding this topic, please contact Jon Bumgarner at 317.977.1474 or jbumgarner@wp.hallrender.com or your regular Hall Render attorney.
