BCG Institute for Workforce Development in Review and 2013 Proposed Budget

Transcription

1 BCG Institute for Workforce Development 2011 in Review and 2013 Proposed Budget

2 Biddle Consulting Group Institute for Workforce Development (BCGi) If you enjoy this webinar, Don t forget to check out our other training opportunities through the BCGi website. BCGi Standard Membership (free) Online community Monthly webinars on EEO compliance topics EEO Insight Journal (e-copy) BCGi Platinum Membership (paid) Fully interactive online community Includes validation/compensation analysis books EEO Tools including those needed to conduct AI analyses EEO Insight Journal (e-copy and hardcopy) Members only webinars and training and much more

3 Contact Information Patrick Nooren, Ph.D., Executive Vice President x 111 John Piatt, Director, EEO-OCR jpiatt@biddle.com x 118 3

4 Agenda 2011: Year in Review 2013: Proposed Budget Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 4

5 2011: Year in Review Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 5

6 2011 in Review January 2011: Replace ACM with ACE Directive Much more aggressive approach Can conduct on-site audits without cause January 2011: Began Utilizing Much More Aggressive Approach to Investigating Compensation Implemented 2%/$2,000 rule Began enforcing (in earnest) cohort-level pay issues Sought approval from OMB to publish new Itemized Listing (August) Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Compensation Data Collection Tool (August) Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 6

7 2011 in Review January 2011: New Scheduling Letter for Construction Contractors January 2011: New Focus on Outreach/Recruitment (In Particular with Vets/Individuals with Disabilities) April 2011: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Veterans Significant changes to outreach/recruitment/record retention Self-identification of Protected Veterans pre-offer Hiring goals Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 7

8 2011 in Review December 2011: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Individuals with Disabilities Hiring goals of 7% per job group within each AAP Self-identification pre-offer New quantitative analyses of applicants, hires, workforce Hired more staff (now up to approx. 750 FTEs) Statisticians Validation Experts Continued use of outside experts Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 8

9 2011 in Review Pending Items: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Update of Construction Contractor Regulations Overhaul of 24-year old Federal Contractor Compliance Manual Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Update to Sex Discrimination Regulations Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 9

10 2013: Proposed Budget Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 10

11 2013 Proposed Budget Five-Year Budget Activity History Fiscal Year Funding (in Thousands) Full-Time Employees , , , , , ,416 (proposed) 755 (proposed) Fiscal Year Number of Audits % Target with Major/Technical Discrepancies , ,980 (projected) 19.0% / 40.0% ,530 (projected) 15.0% / 30.0% Source: OFCCP FY 2013 Congressional Budget Justification Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 11

12 2013 Proposed Budget OFCCP 2013 Initiatives are Allocated into the Following Categories: Enforcement Compensation Outreach Staff Development Cost Effective Measures Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 12

13 2013 Proposed Budget Enforcement: Ensuring quality evaluations by compliance officers (while increasing the overall number of evaluations) OFCCP will complete 4,530 compliance evaluations - a 12% increase over FY 2012 levels. To achieve this, they are: Increasing the thoroughness and breadth of its investigative efforts: Continuing to use Active Case Enforcement (ACE) to conduct thorough desk audits of all cases, increase onsite activity, and increase compliance evaluations focused specifically on Sections 503 and VEVRAA. Devoting considerable resources to ensure that contractors recruit, hire, and retain veterans and individuals with disabilities. Expanding enforcement within construction trades (particularly Mega Projects ) Expanding enforcement with respect to compensation disparities Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 13

14 2013 Proposed Budget Compensation: Addressing the Pay Gap is a Priority for the OFCCP. OFCCP will: Implement the guidance and protocols currently under development Continue to train staff Finalize revisions to the Itemized Listing (to require submittal of employee-level compensation data) Continue development on Compensation Data Collection Tool (to allow for automated analysis of all contractor data) Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 14

15 2013 Proposed Budget Outreach: Expanding the knowledge base of workers and federal contractors through education and outreach In FY 2013, OFCCP proposes to target its compliance assistance to achieve the greatest impact by: Emphasizing the importance of providing compliance assistance as an integral part of the compliance officer s enforcement activities; Leveraging existing contractor networks such as Industry Liaison Groups (ILGs) and multi-establishment corporations to promote corporate-wide compliance; Focusing on contractors that largely employ at-risk populations identified through OFCCP enforcement activities; Assisting new and small contractors; Creating synergy between their rulemaking and their training and staff development agendum. Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 15

16 2013 Proposed Budget Staff Development: Increasing the technical proficiency of OFCCP staff Although OFCCP does not currently possess empirical evidence showing the causal relationship between their proposed strategies and their outcome goals, the agency has begun tracking the quality of its case audits to indicate whether investigations are timely completed and whether quality audit deficiencies decrease over time. OFCCP will focus on identifying deficiencies found in routine quality audits of closed cases as major or technical. This will allow the agency to better inform and prioritize training needs to improve the quality and consistency of compliance evaluations. OFCCP is proposing six continuing education and skills development training courses during FY Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 16

17 2013 Proposed Budget Staff Development: Increasing the technical proficiency of OFCCP staff (cont.) Eight training courses in support of the agency s regulatory agenda will be offered in FY This training will focus on the following regulatory changes and their impact on the compliance evaluation process: Section 503; VEVRAA; construction; and sex discrimination Two courses will be offered in each of the aforementioned areas to ensure that all OFCCP personnel are well grounded in substantive program areas. Lastly, OFCCP will offer one course aimed at managers. Potential topics include performance management, efficient use of resources, and budget-performance integration. Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 17

18 2013 Proposed Budget Cost-Effective Measures: Strategic Case Selection OFCCP will focus its enforcement efforts on a strategic mix of compensation, hiring, VEVRAA, Section 503, and other investigations. Based on the strength of the evidence of a potential violation, the agency will identify priority cases in each of the aforementioned areas and allocate resources accordingly to resolve them. Scary! Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 18

19 2013 Proposed Budget Cost-Effective Measures (cont.): Strategic Case Selection Used to identify similar issues that arise within corporations and industries, and to identify potential cases for enterprise-wide investigations. Enterprise-wide investigations, based on patterns of violations and identification of egregious violators, will enable the OFCCP to remedy deficiencies across an entire corporate structure, rather than one facility at a time. This enforcement strategy will increase the rate of compliance for contractors who engage in egregious violations. Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 19

20 2013 Proposed Budget Cost-Effective Measures (cont.): Cloud-Based Federal Contract Compliance System (FCCS) OFCCP plans to allocate $3.62 million dollars in FY 2012 to support the initial implementation (i.e., Deployment 1) of the application with basic case and content management functionality by September The estimated funding for FY 2013 is $4.7 million to cover Deployments 2 and 3. These will provide necessary enhanced functionality such as: dashboard reporting, automated business data analysis, capability for electronic submission of AAPs and other HR documents, automated scheduling, and the potential to support a possible new integrated compensation data tool. Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 20

21 An Ambitious Agenda (in an Election Year) ANPRM - Sex Discrimination Regulations ANPRM - Construction Contractor Regulations NPRM and OMB Approval of - Revisions to section 503 (Disabilities) NPRM and OMP Approval - Revisions to VEVRA (Veterans) Deployment of ACE More In-Depth Audits Maintaining Quality Audits Educating and Training various levels of Staff Ensuring consistency through internal Audits Bridging the Compensation Gap OMB Approval of Revised Desk Audit Letter (Itemized Listing) ANPRM of Compensation Data Collection System Development/Deployment of FCCS Completion of the revised Federal Contractor Compliance Manual (FCCM) Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 21

22 22

23 2011 in Review Small quietly changed OFCCP s Press Release policy to (a) much more aggressively publicize increasingly smaller dollar-value settlements, Solicitor Office litigation victories and even the filing of fresh Complaints, and (b) changed the tone of OFCCP Press Releases to make them harsh and vituperative; Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 23

24 What to Expect in 2012 Significant investments in the promulgation of new rules. Specifically, OFCCP is: Issuing proposed rules to strengthen its affirmative action regulations in order to increase the hiring of protected veterans by Federal contractors. Issuing proposed rules to reduce discrimination against women and minorities in construction and strengthen its affirmative action regulations in order to increase the hiring of women and underutilized minorities by Federal contractors in the construction industry. Issuing proposed rules to strengthen its affirmative action regulations in order to reduce discrimination against applicants with disabilities and increase the hiring of individuals with disabilities by Federal contractors. Issuing a notice of proposed rescission of the interpretive standards for systemic compensation discrimination under Executive Order and the voluntary guidelines for self-evaluation of the compensation practices under Executive Order Issuing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) soliciting information on how it might collect and use appropriate data to identify compensation discrimination. Eliminating compensation discrimination is a priority issue for OFCCP. Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 24

25 What to Expect in 2012 Misclassification of Workers As noted by a 2009 report by Government Accountability Office (GAO), the number of employees classified as independent contractors has increased from 8 million to 10 million over the last decade. In 2000, a study by Planmatics that was commissioned by the Department found that ten to thirty percent of firms audited in nine states misclassified at least some employees. Several states that have studied the impact of misclassification have found similar results, with industries like construction having higher rates of misclassified workers. Employees who are misclassified as independent contractors do not receive the protections and benefits to which they are entitled, including protections under the nation s civil rights law. Federal contractors who are seeking to skirt the requirements of E.O may misclassify their employees as federal contractors in order to make the composition of their workforce appear more diverse or to mask discriminatory employment practices. Although to date, the agency has not focused its investigative efforts on this issue, the issue of misclassification has surfaced during several compliance evaluations and complaint investigations. During FY 2012, OFCCP will develop an investigative plan addressing the misclassification of workers and train investigators to identify this issue during the compliance evaluation process. The fourth quarter of FY 2012 will be used to establish a baseline measurement of the impact of this initiative. In order to adequately address misclassification in the federal contractor community, OFCCP requires additional staff, training, and appropriate protocols. To successfully identify misclassified workers, the investigations into the misclassification of workers will require vigorous desk audits (where additional data will be requested from the contractor) and interviews of workers during onsite investigations. Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 25

26 What to expect in 2012 OFCCP will expand its investigation strategy and will adopt a more comprehensive effort, inclusive of all laws enforced by the agency, all protected classes, and all types of cases in effect a comprehensive enforcement strategy. Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 26

27 What to expect in 2012 OFCCP will use a number of measures to assure thoroughness of compliance audits, case quality, and consistency in case audit procedures. Ensuring quality is central to OFCCP s mission and enforcement responsibilities. Compliance investigations are the primary method in which OFCCP assesses Federal contractors compliance with their legal obligations of nondiscrimination and affirmative action. High quality investigations of contractors, implemented through consistent regularly monitored operational practices in field offices will enable OFCCP to achieve the four outcome goals in this operating plan. Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 27

28 What to expect in 2012 The components of quality will ensure that OFCCP: Conducts more comprehensive audits; Improves the identification of adverse impact indicators; Identifies compensation disparities; and Brings more Federal contractors into compliance.. Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 28

29 What to expect in 2012 OFCCP is broadening enforcement beyond systemic, low-wage hiring discrimination cases under the Executive Order. more comprehensive, thorough, and timely compliance evaluation process that will result in broader enforcement of all EEO laws and regulations administered by OFCCP. New systems are being established to ensure a renewed focus on previously under-investigated areas e.g. wage-based compensation discrimination, Section 503 and VEVRAA cases. These types of investigations are more complex, necessitating more in-depth, detailed and thorough investigations with additional on-site verifications and numerous, in-depth interviews of witnesses, all of which require increased staff time and attention. Copyright Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. 29