National Employment Law Institute 2010 Affirmative Action Briefing O F C C P A Leader in Civil Rights Enforcement U.S. Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs PATRICIA A. SHIU Director

Our Mission “To enforce, for the benefit of job seekers and wage earners, the contractual promise of affirmative action and equal employment opportunity required of those who do business with the federal government.”

We level the playing field for everyone by Protecting workers Promoting diversity Enforcing the law To Put It Simply… Taxpayer dollars should never be used to discriminate.

History of OFCCP In 1965 President Lyndon Johnson issued Executive Order (EO) 11246, which directed federal agencies to include affirmative action and non-discrimination provisions in government contracts. In 1978 President Jimmy Carter consolidated this function under EO 12086, and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) was born. Under the leadership of President Barack Obama, the agency’s staff has grown by 35% and it’s budget has increased by 25%. Protect Workers - Promote Diversity – Enforce the Law

45 th Anniversary Celebration Executive Order Signed on September 24, 1965 Protect Workers - Promote Diversity – Enforce the Law

Three Legal Authorities 1.Executive Order Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 503) 3.Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA) Covers nearly 1/4 of the workforce employed by more than 200,000 establishments with approximately $700 billion in taxpayer-funded federal contracts Protect Workers - Promote Diversity – Enforce the Law

Executive Order Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin and religion and requires contractors to take affirmative action to ensure equal employment opportunity Applies generally to all establishments holding government contracts of more than $10,000 Non-construction contractors that meet certain thresholds are required to develop and maintain a written Affirmative Action Program (AAP) EO did not include women – gender was added later with EO Protect Workers - Promote Diversity – Enforce the Law

Section 503 Prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and requires affirmative action Applies to establishments with a covered federal contract or subcontract valued in excess of $10,000 Contractors that meet the 50 employee / $50,000 threshold are required to develop and maintain a written AAP Protect Workers - Promote Diversity – Enforce the Law

VEVRAA Prohibits discrimination against protected categories of veterans * and requires affirmative action Applies to establishment with a contract or subcontract of $25,000 or more entered into before December 1, 2003, or $100,000 or more if contract entered into or modified on or after December 1, 2003 Contractors that meet the 50 employee and monetary threshold above are required to develop and maintain a written AAP * Protected veterans include: special disabled veterans, veterans of the Vietnam era, veterans who served on active duty or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized, recently separated veterans, Armed Forces Service Medal veterans and all veterans with service-connected disabilities. Protect Workers - Promote Diversity – Enforce the Law

OFCCP by the Numbers Network of 6 regional and 45 district and area offices Team of 782 employees including almost 200 newly hired compliance officers Evaluate more than 7,500 establishments annually Just completed more than 450 audits of companies receiving contracts under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Referred more than 34 cases to the Solicitor of Labor for litigation in FY 2010 – more than double 2009 and triple 2008 Protect Workers - Promote Diversity – Enforce the Law

OFCCP’s Six Regions Pacific Midwest SWARM Northeast Mid-Atlantic Southeast Protect Workers - Promote Diversity – Enforce the Law

1.Strengthen enforcement 2.Implement a robust regulatory agenda 3.Broaden outreach to identify more individual complaints from workers Three Top Priorities Protect Workers - Promote Diversity – Enforce the Law

Increasing on-site investigations Building our team –Hired nearly 200 new compliance officers in the past year –Providing uniform, high-quality and nationally mandated compliance officer trainings for the first time in a decade Being more aggressive in how we resolve cases –Moving from “good faith” to accountability measures –Improving make-whole remedies for affected workers –Pursuing litigation, debarment and other sanctions with worst offenders #1: Strengthen Enforcement Protect Workers - Promote Diversity – Enforce the Law

Tyson Fresh Meats (Joslin, IL) –Largest supplier of premium beef and pork –Found discrimination against women in entry level jobs –Request back pay for more than 750 rejected applicants and offers of employment for more than 100 affected women Coca-Cola Bottling Company (Charlotte, NC) –Second largest Coke bottler in the nation –Negotiated $495,000 in back wages and interest for 95 African-American and Hispanic job seekers and offers of employment for at least 23 class members –Settlement also includes restoring seniority and benefits to those who are hired – retroactive to 2002 Examples of Recent Cases Protect Workers - Promote Diversity – Enforce the Law

#2: Regulatory Agenda VEVRAA - Veterans –Will publish new rules next winter –Require federal contractors and subcontractors to strengthen AAPs and measure their EEO efforts Section 503 – People with Disabilities –Sought public input on key questions around Effective employment practices Available data Ways to strengthen linkage agreements Protect Workers - Promote Diversity – Enforce the Law

#2: Regulatory Agenda (cont.) Construction – Women and Minorities –Increase hiring of women and minorities in construction jobs –Enhance effectiveness of construction contractors’ AAPs especially around recruitment, training and apprenticeships Pay Equity – Women –Develop new compensation data collection instrument –Rescind 2006 Interpretive Standards on Compensation Discrimination –Improve coordination with sister federal agencies on this issue Protect Workers - Promote Diversity – Enforce the Law

Goal: to prioritize and increase individual complaints Individual complaints yield more than double the rate of discrimination findings vs. neutral scheduling process Increase community-based outreach to civil and workers’ rights groups and to advocacy and service- providing organizations Engage acquisition officers across federal agencies #3: Broaden Outreach Efforts Protect Workers - Promote Diversity – Enforce the Law

Focus on diversity in hiring on construction and ARRA projects Play a leadership role on the President’s National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force Represent the U.S. Department of Labor on White House Initiative on Asian American and Pacific Islanders Federal Interagency Working Group Other Initiatives Protect Workers - Promote Diversity – Enforce the Law

We are the Department of Good Jobs for Everyone. OFCCP is on the front lines of ensuring that the reach for good jobs is truly within the grasp of everyone.