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What is the purpose of an Affirmative Action Program?Understanding the law on sensitive and challenging issues such as affirmative action is not easy, especially in today’s busy workplace. Probably the most important thing to realize about affirmative action is that it is a program, not merely a plan. The laws and regulations pertaining to affirmative action require covered employers to do more than just draft and maintain an affirmative action plan document. Under these laws and regulations, a covered employer must perform a number of acts relating to workplace policies and procedures that both demonstrate the employer’s commitment to affirmative action, and that actually show the implementation of the employer’s affirmative action plan in the workplace. This means not only does the employer have to put affirmative action policies and procedures in place, but that the employer’s managers and supervisors must understand the policies and procedures and bring them “alive” through their actions and behaviors. Why engage in these efforts? One reason is that federal law, and income-generating federal contracts, require it. An employer that is found to be “out of compliance” with its affirmative action obligations may be “debarred,” that is, may be barred from doing business with any federal agency or department from the date of the debarment forward. For companies that are dependent upon federal contracts or sales for their income, being barred from doing business with the federal government can have highly detrimental consequences. An additional reason for complying with the federal law’s affirmative action requirements is the risk of audit. The federal agency that monitors affirmative action compliance is the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, or “OFCCP.” The OFCCP has several procedures it uses on a regular basis to monitor the compliance status of those employers who have affirmative action obligations. Most covered employers, therefore, will be required to answer some OFCCP inquiry or report on their compliance status virtually every year. Moreover, the OFCCP has broad authority to monitor an employer’s compliance status in areas of the law not directly under the OFCCP’s jurisdiction. An example of this: The OFCCP has the authority to audit an employer’s Form I-9s (record-keeping relating to whether employees are lawfully entitled to work in the United States), and to report violations to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Because of the risk of audit and resultant debarment or other negative consequence, the successful development and implementation of an Affirmative Action Program that withstands scrutiny is both a notable accomplishment and a great protection of your employer’s profit-generating ability. Development and Administration
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Total Compliance Connection, L.L.C. |