Compliance Stuff

Ohio has eliminated requirements that state contractors maintain written affirmative action programs (AAPs) and that bidders for public improvement construction projects receive affirmative action certifications. The changes significantly alter the landscape for state contractors amid President Donald Trump’s rollback of AAP compliance mandates for federal contractors. Quick Hits A new Ohio law will eliminate AAP requirements for state contractors. The changes align with the Trump administration’s rollback of federal affirmative action mandates. Ohio was one of several states and local jurisdictions with its own contractor affirmative action requirements . On June 30, 2025, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed into law  House Bill (HB) 96 , the state’s operating appropriations vehicle for fiscal year (FY) 2026–27. The legislation revamped government administrative requirements and will eliminate key affirmative action requirements for state contractors effective September 30, 2025. AA...

The Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has published proposed changes to regulations under the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 503) and has published a notice of rescission of regulations implementing Executive Order (EO) 11246. These proposed changes implement  EO 14173 , which revoked EO 11246. While the proposals are mostly procedural and involve eliminating cross-references to EO 11246, the proposed modifications to the Section 503 regulations also eliminate the requirement that contractors invite applicants and employees to self-identify their disability status and eliminate the current regulation’s utilization goal requirements.  Background:  Before January 21, 2025, the OFCCP enforced EO 11246, VEVRAA, and Section 503. EO 11246 prohibited employment discrimination by federal contractors and subcontractors based on race, color, religion, sex, sexua...

The Trump administration plans to completely eliminate the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and transfer the agency’s remaining authority to enforce protections in federal contractors for veterans and workers with disabilities to other agencies, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) recent budget document. Meanwhile, the DOL has  announced  the launch of its “opinion letter program” that could provide employers with additional guidance on the administration’s revamp of the department and new enforcement priorities. Quick Hits The Trump administration’s budget proposal seeks to eliminate the OFCCP and transfer enforcement responsibilities for veterans and disability protections to other agencies . Amid the administration’s new labor policies, t he DOL has launched an opinion letter program to provide clear guidance on federal labor laws to employers and workers . On May 30, 2025, the DOL released its  budget justification  for the fi...

  In June 2023, the Supreme Court made   a landmark decision   in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. (SFFA) v. President & Fellows of Harvard College (Harvard) and SFFA v. University of North Carolina (UNC), ruling 6-3 that the admissions policies at Harvard and UNC violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by considering an applicant’s race during the admissions process. While this ruling specifically addresses race in college admissions, it raises broader questions about the future of affirmative action in employment. For those of us involved in federal contract compliance, it is important to clarify that “ affirmative action” in the context of employment is fundamentally different from its use in college admissions. Contrary to some popular misconceptions, affirmative action for federal contractors does not mean quotas, set-asides, or preferential treatment for protected class members – such practices are explicitly illegal. In employment, merit-b...

 On June 12, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing its review of the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) and asking for public comment.  All federal statistical agencies, including the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), use SOC codes when reporting on occupational data for statistical purposes. This ensures that data is comparable across agencies and, therefore, more usable. Most federal contractors use the Census EEO Tabulation when calculating availability for their Executive Order 11246 Affirmative Action Programs (AAPs). Additionally, OFCCP often uses BLS’s Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) data when calculating back pay in systemic discrimination cases. Both data sources use SOC codes.  The current SOC code structure, which is dated 2018 and includes classification principles, coding guidelines, and code definitions, can be found on BLS’s website. The SOC syste...

On August 1, 2024, the U.S Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published   new promising practices   encouraging the use of apprenticeship programs to attract and retain veterans protected by the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended (VEVRAA). The promising practices help contractors understand how to implement apprenticeship programs that can benefit contractors and protected veterans. They also discuss how apprenticeship programs can support contractors’ efforts to promote equal employment opportunity. Under VEVRAA, federal contractors and subcontractors are prohibited from engaging in discrimination in employment practices against veterans and are required to provide equal employment opportunity in recruiting, hiring, promoting, and retaining protected veterans.   Earlier this year, OFCCP updated its  VEVRAA webpage . This webpage includes links to videos highlighting the importance of...

  Beginning April 1, 2024, federal contractors will be able to certify the status of their Affirmative Action Programs (AAPs) for each establishment and /or functional/business unit, as applicable.   The deadline for certifying compliance is   July 1, 2024.   Source:  www.dol.gov ,   accessed on March 29, 2024.