Finally, after many months and a couple of comment periods, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved OFCCP’s updated Scheduling Letters. Thus, the four letters that were approved are:
The VEVRAA Focused Review Scheduling Letter is the most intriguing of the group. OFCCP held off from scheduling any VEVRAA Focused Reviews until the OMB gave official approval. That CSAL list, naming 500 federal contractors pegged for VEVRAA reviews, was released in November of 2019.
Therefore, with the letters now official, those federal contractors on the CSAL list should expect to receive their formal Scheduling Letters soon. If you are on that list, now would be a good time to prepare and collect everything you need to pass the evaluation. Remember, despite COVID-19, OFCCP is running business as usual by utilizing virtual options.
As for all the letters themselves, OFCCP had submitted a number of potential changes. However, federal contractors pushed back with many concerns. In the end, the letters appear very similar to the original versions, and contractors should understand how to respond to the Scheduling Letters.
Among OFCCP’s suggested provisions, these major changes were not approved by OMB:
In addition to the aforementioned Scheduling Letters, OMB also approved a pair of Compliance Check Scheduling Letters specifically for construction contractors. Each of the two letters focus on a particular contractor group:
A direct construction contractor holds a straightforward contract with a federal agency. For example, if a construction contractor enters into a contract with the Department of Defense for the construction, repair, rehabilitation, or demolition of federal buildings. They would be deemed a direct federal construction contractor.
Federally-assisted construction contractors are different in that a federal agency is not one of the contracting parties, but merely a source of the funding. In this case, the construction contractor does not have a direct contract with the federal agency; instead, the agency offers financial backing through a federal program.
An example of this would be the federal Department of Transportation providing funds for local highway construction and repair through a state agency. It is then the state agency that handles the bidding process and contract management with the construction company.
Due to the differing nature of the relationship between the construction contractor and the federal agencies in these examples, direct federal contractors have more requirements to fulfill when seeking compliance.
If you have any additional questions about the Scheduling Letters, compliance evaluations, focused reviews, or anything OFCCP-related, please reach out to LocalJobNetwork at (800) 984-3775 or [email protected]. Also, if you are already a customer with LocalJobNetwork, your Account Manager would be happy to help you with anything you need.
