The last several years, cybersecurity has found itself thrust into mainstream media. Hacks against the government, companies, and individuals’ personal data have almost become a daily routine. To put actual numbers behind this, 54% of companies state they have experienced one or more successful attacks that compromised their IT infrastructure. Only a third of organizations believe they are adequately equipped to manage th...

In the four prior articles in this series, we have conducted an evaluation of OFCCP’s recent regulatory and enforcement positions through the lenses of the fundamental and perennial question, “What is Law?” This last article in this series addresses contractor concerns that have emerged over the past five years about what appears to be OFCCP’s results-oriented application of the law, i.e., determin...

In recent years, federal contractors have come to know an Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) that is, shall we say, a bit forward. More requests for data outside of the compliance review period. Common requests for workforce-wide compensation data, or for odd employee groupings without statistical indicators. Routine requests for exhaustive personal contact information of employees. Short turnaround de...

When the St. Louis Industry Liaison Group (ILG) talks about “meeting you at the fair,” it’s not about ice-cream cones and electric lights. What we’re talking about is a chance for federal contractors to visit with the community-based organizations (CBOs) who represent the veteran and disability communities in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area. What started in 2014 as a response to the changes with Se...

96 The OFCCP Digest is a complimentary resource for federal contractors on topics of Affirmative Action,...

Over the last several decades, pay secrecy policies have persisted – and even thrived – in the American workplace. Employees who are told not to discuss their compensation with their colleagues rarely question the legality of such a prohibition and, even if they did, are fearful of violating it for fear of losing their job. As a result, pay secrecy policies have long provided a critical advantage to employers during salar...

The practice of hiring interns has become widely recognized across different organizations. Determining whether an intern is considered an “employee” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has been a troubling task for most organizations until now. The Department of Labor has recently updated Fact Sheet #71: “Internship Programs Under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” and have adopted a “primar...

In the three prior articles in this series, we have evaluated OFCCP's recent regulatory and enforcement positions through the lenses of the fundamental and perennial question, 'What is Law?' Since our earlier articles, Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta has continued to build his team at the Department of Labor (DOL). For example, the Senate recently confirmed Patrick Pizzella as Deputy Secretary of Labor. We expe...

When we think about affirmative action in employment, the general tendency is to think about the federal affirmative action laws and regulations that are enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). However, there are many state and local units of government that also have affirmative action requirements for certain organizations. At times, these requirements can...

In our increasingly fast-paced and stressful world, it seems we are called to accomplish more and more in less time. That may go for many of us in our employment situations as well. As employers and contractors continue to downsize and become leaner, many employees find themselves performing more work, or work of a different nature than what they had previously been required to perform. And some of these employees experie...