OFFCP to add employees, upgrade IT capabilities

After going virtual in 2020, the National Industry Liaison Group (NILG) conference convened in-person in Nashville this year. Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) Director Jenny Yang opened the gathering with recorded remarks announcing long-time Mid-Atlantic Regional Director Michele Hodge would become the career deputy director. She then updated participants on what they can expect from the OFCCP:

• Once the federal budget is approved, Yang expects to hire 188 full-time employees and continue upgrading the agency's IT capability;
• With the infrastructure bill nearing completion, she expects to reinvigorate the construction contractor program with a new scheduling letter, which would require affected contractors to submit data prior to the on-site and new-construction audit scheduling system; and
• Yang again encouraged contractors to use Functional Affirmative Action Plans (FAAPs), which the agency believes would have the benefit of grouping more employees and allowing the OFCCP to "identify more areas for growth."

Yang said the OFCCP is looking to modernize its regulations such as (1) considering alternatives to its current establishment-based approach to affirmative action plans (AAPs) to better analyze workforce patterns, (2) requiring goal setting by race/ethnicity, and (3) collecting gender nonbinary data. In addition, the agency has added new FAQs on how contractors should handle remote workers in their AAPs.

Insights from OFCCP regional directors