OFCCP pressuring contractors to register, self-certify

Many employers are receiving invitations to register for the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program’s (OFCCP) contractor portal. Before doing so, here is what you should know.

Decide not to register? Audit may be ahead

Those of you who have been following the OFCCP’s news releases may know the contractor portal by its previous name, the Affirmative Action Program Verification Interface, which the agency abbreviated to AAP-VI or AAVI. Without going through the administrative rulemaking process, the agency insists it can require contractors and subcontractors to:

• Register their existence as self-admitted covered federal contractors and subcontractors; and
• Certify they have timely developed an affirmative action plan (AAP) and won’t edit or revise it during the plan year.

The OFCCP has indicated it will use the certification process as an additional factor in selecting contractors for audits: “Contractors [and subcontractors] who fail to self-certify or who state that they have not developed an AAP as required by law would be more likely to be on the scheduling list than contractors that have self-certified.”

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