JacintoPort to pay $219,000

JacintoPort International LLC is preparing to accept and settle claims of discriminative hiring that impacted forty eight black and twenty one white job applicants that were declined longshoreman positions at the JacintoPort’s cargo facility in Houston. Because JacintoPort is a federal contractor they are subject to the enforcement jurisdiction of OFCCP and must prepare and affirmative action plan.

OFCCP Director Pat Shui stated that “all federal contractors on notice that in the Obama administration we will be persistent when it comes to rooting out workplace discrimination and will vigilantly monitor employers who violate the law until they get it right.” OFCCP has recently proposed new regulations that would make the affirmative action and affirmative action plan requirements more burdensome and costly.

JacintoPort and been previously found in violation of recordkeeping and as part of the settlement was to implement an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) in order to track new hires as well as put in place action oriented programs to recruit blacks and women. The recordkeeping requirement is part of their affirmative action and affirmative action plan reporting responsibilities. This settlement took place in June of 2006 and resulted in a conciliation agreement that stated the violations and corrective measures that JacintoPort agreed to. As part of the conciliation agreement JacintoPort was to submit several reports to OFCCP in order to demonstrate that the corrective action required in the conciliation agreement was being implemented. It was the results of these reports that led OFCCP to conclude that blacks and whites were being discriminated against for the longshoreman position and that JacintoPort was giving preferential hiring treatment to Hispanics. As a result, JacintoPort will pay $219,000 in back wages and make whole relief to the affected black and white applicants as well as make offers to seventeen of the affected class members.

Who is Career Resources, Inc.

Founded in 1979, Career Resources is a privately owned company which develops Affirmative Action and Diversity Plans, provides Diversity and Affirmative Action Plan implementation, online e-Learning courses, Sexual Harassment Training, EEOC and OFCCP vulnerability audits, OFCCP audit support used by hundreds of organizations nationwide including fortune 500 companies and small/medium size businesses in all industries. For more information about Career Resources, Inc., go to http://www.crincorporated.com or email us INFO at Career Resources, Inc.

NCS Pearson settles charges of racial discrimination with OFCCP

The US Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published the settlement with NCS Pearson Inc.. a government federal contractor that has affirmative acton requirements as defined by Executive Order 11246 and the Code of Federal Regulations.

NCS Pearson has consented to reconcile claims of hiring/recruitment discrimination on the basis of race. The settlement involved sixty seven Asian applicants that were rejected for NCS’s associate software developer positions at NCS’s Iowa City, Iowa, facility. Within the provisions of the agreement, the NCS’s will pay back pay and make whole relief of $100,000 to the affected job seekers/applicants a offer preferential hiring treatment to four of the 67 affected class members, when positions become available. NCS Pearson will also revise their selection practices and policies in order to ensure that the situation is not repeated and that all future applicants are afforded equal opportunity.

The settlement of this case and other recent cases have placed federal contractors with affirmative action plans and affirmative action responsibilities on notice. OFCCP is currently revising their audit strategies in an effort to make the requirements of affirmative action for federal contractors even more burdensome.

Who is Career Resources, Inc.

FedEx Settles with OFCCP for $3 Million

By James Gutierrez

The United States Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contractors Compliance Program’s (OFCCP), announced a $3,000,000 settlement with FedEx. The settlement involved the alleged discrimination against 21,635 applicants/job seekers at 22 FedEx ground unit facilites, an accusation that FedEx denies.

The Labor Department asserted it had discovered indications of discrimination in relation to hiring at the 22 FedEx facilities based upon sex, race and national origin. The determination was based on a random audit of the 22 FedEx facilities Affirmative Action Plans.

FedEx settled with OFCCP, admitting no wrongdoing and agreed to Implement changes to eliminatediscriminatory hiring procedures. The settlement also requires FedEx to make a give preferential hiring treatment to 1,703 of 21,635 job seekers/applicants that were rejected for the part-time positions. The $3 million will be divided amongst the 21,635 individuals providing them with a whopping $138.66 each on average.

FedEx states that the reason for the settlement (without admitting any wrongdoing) was to steer clear of what might have been a extended and expensive resolution process. FedEx was also quick to point out that the allegations were based on a computer statistical analysis and that no individual complaints had been filed. The initial statistics would have been provided in FedEx’s Affirmative Action Plan.

OFCCP states that they had uncovered the initial proof of discrimination over seven years ago. The initial inference of discrimination involved blacks, Hispanics, Asian and Native Americans. OFCCP conducts approximately 4,000 affirmative action plan audits each year.

University of Arkansas violates Affirmative Action Policy

Bobby Petrino, bypassed University of Arkansas affirmative action policy and selection guidelines and job requirements so that he could hire his mistress, Jessica Dorrell. Perino was later terminated his actions.

According to University documents, Jessica Dorrell applied for the teams Player Development Coordinator, the position required two years of experience as well as other criteria, Ms. Dorrell’s resume stated no prior experience or that she possessed other essential qualification of the job. Many federal contractors with affirmative action plans know that one of the key affirmative action responsibilities is to ensure that all applicants meet the minimum requirements of the job.

In addition to Ms. Dorrell’s not meeting the essential functions of the job, Mr. Petrino had solicited a waiver from the university’s affirmative action policy that required the position to be posted for thirty days before interviews could begin. Before the waiver was approved the first interview with Ms. Dorrell was already scheduled 5 days after the position was posted and Ms. Dorrell was subsequently hired.

Once it was discovered that Petrino had an inappropriate relationship with the 25 year old, which gave her an unfair and unrevealed advantage, Petrino was terminated and Ms. Dorrel was placed on paid leave.

One other key item worth mentioning is that the “most qualified” candidate for the position was a black male. The University failed in its affirmative action efforts and this can be a lesson to all especially federal contractors with affirmative action plan responsibilities.

Who is Career Resources, Inc.

OFCCP Stepping Up Enforcement

The disability affirmative action regulations have not undergone a comprehensive modification since 1996. On November 30, 2011, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB handed the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) a win by approving the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to modify the OFCCP’s affirmative acitoni plan regulations for persons with disabilities under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

OFCCP Director Patricia Shiu, stated “the old regulations were simply not cutting it”. Directors Shiu added that the new NPRM “is going to be a game changer” for federal contractors.

Pushing the Limits

Contractors are finding themselves producing additional compensation data to OFCCP even if the “threshold tests conducted by OFCCP during the desk audit do not produce indicators of discrimination. Cases like the one with United Space Alliance have emboldened the OFCCP even further. New Wave of OFCCP Scheduling Letters Coming Soon

Be ready for the new Scheduling Letter – and make sure you have the resources availble

The proposed revision to the OFCCP’s Scheduling Letter should put contractors on notice that OFCCP is playing for keeps. The new Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing requires contractors to produce detailed personnel records at the start of the desk audit phase and not when contractors have indicators of discrimination.

Changes to the Scheduling letter will impact the the labor intensity of recordkeeping efforts of contractors, meaning that contractors must be more diligent in their recordkeeping efforts and in conducting self-audits. A few of the changes are listed below:

Have your policies ready, OFCCP will be requiring contractors to submit policies concerning employment leave, this will cover accommodations for religious observances, pregnancy leave and medical leave; however, the agency’s request will not be limited to just these.

Detailed records for applicants, hires, promotions and terminations by job title and job group broken down by gender and race. Contractors will also be required to provide the pool of candidates considered for terminations and promotions.

Moving forward contractors should work closely with their consultant to ensure that they are clearly understand the new regulations as they apply to their affirmative action plan requirements, recordkeeping and document retention. The current changes will impact hiring managers and recruiters as well, ensure that they are brought up to speed on their affirmative action plan responsibilities.

Who is Career Resources, Inc.

Founded in 1979, Career Resources is a privately owned company which develops Affirmative Action and Diversity Plans, provides Diversity and Affirmative Action Plan implementation, online e-Learning courses, Sexual Harassment Training, EEOC and OFCCP vulnerability audits, OFCCP audit support used by hundreds of organizations nationwide including fortune 500 companies and small/medium size businesses in all industries. For more information about Career Resources, Inc., go tohttp://www.crincorporated.com or email us INFO at Career Resources, Inc.

Affirmative Action Plan Revisions Section 503

As part of their effort to augment the hiring of individuals with a disability, part of the OFCCP’s Notice of Proposed Rule Making requires federal contractors with affirmative action plans to list job opportunities and/or have entered into linkage agreements with 4 separate recruitment resources. The Notice, unfortunately, offers absolutely no strategies and information related to the type of success rate relating to referrals from using those sources, as part of obtaining significant employment, and also recommendations as to the format or content related with the contracts. The definition of “linkage agreements” communicates who is required to ratify the contract, however the suggested rules do not offer any sort of further advice as to the expected content of the contracts. Contractors clearly believe that these are the types of relationships that are critical for the referral and selection of suitable candidates with a disability.

The inability of the OFCCP to provide contractors clear guidance regarding their affirmative action efforts suggests that OFCCP has not thought the matter through and should withdraw the proposed requirement all together.

The Agency’s failure to endorse a national employment service further confirmst their lack of seriousness regarding the Proposed Rule. When one reviews current sources listed by OFCCP as linkage programs it is evident that such sources will not provide the quality referrals OFCCP suggests. In addition these organizations have not been vetted to ensure that they will accept and be able to handle the 10′s of thousands of requests for contractors.

Again, OFCCP should clearly reassess or completely withdraw the mandated requirement affirmative action/federal contractors recruit from such lists or resources. no assurances that these organizations are prepared to handle this volume of requests.

One more issue with the OFCCP’s Notice is that the disregard the years contractors have spent establishing relationships with organizations for individuals with a disability that are much better qualified to provide suitable candidates. We are concerned that they will have to forego these beneficial relationships yielding qualified individuals with a disability for other agencies dictated by the OFCCP. Thus, the NILG suggests that, to the extent the OFCCP requires contractors select sources from the lists provided by the Agency, the OFCCP implement a process whereby contractors can suggest entities to be added to the pool of eligible agencies.

Who is Career Resources, Inc.

Founded in 1979, Career Resources is a privately owned company which develops Affirmative Action and Diversity Plans, provides Diversity and Affirmative Action Plan implementation, online e-Learning courses, Sexual Harassment Training, EEOC and OFCCP vulnerability audits, OFCCP audit support used by hundreds of organizations nationwide including fortune 500 companies and small/medium size businesses in all industries. For more information about Career Resources, Inc., go tohttp://www.crincorporated.com or email us INFO at Career Resources, Inc.

Affirmative Action Revisions Section 503

Affirmative Action comment regarding OFCCP’s proposed rule making regarding Section 503.

The proposed regulations will also call for a segment mandating federal contractors to “send written notification of company policy related to affirmative action efforts to its subcontractors, including subcontracting vendors and suppliers in order to request appropriate action on their parts and to publicize the contractor’s commitment to affirmative action on behalf of individuals with disabilities.” This criteria, that sets no schedule for sending the notices, establishes a redundant and also difficult task for contractors. Contractors are currently mandated to alert their subcontractors and suppliers of their affirmative action obligations. Because this is a redundant process contractors will waste already stretched resources to comply with this request.

The Notice furthermore requires affirmative action plan contractors to keep all records related to this issue for 5 years, this is a clear deviation from the current requirement that mandates records be kept for 2 years. There will obviously be confusion amongst the contractor community regarding the affirmative action plan recordkeeping requirements.

Who is Career Resources, Inc.

Founded in 1979, Career Resources is a privately owned company which develops Affirmative Action and Diversity Plans, provides Diversity and Affirmative Action Plan implementation, online e-Learning courses, Sexual Harassment Training, EEOC and OFCCP vulnerability audits, OFCCP audit support used by hundreds of organizations nationwide including fortune 500 companies and small/medium size businesses in all industries. For more information about Career Resources, Inc., go tohttp://www.crincorporated.com or email us INFO at Career Resources, Inc.

Contractors found in noncompliance during Affirmative Action Plan audits for FY 2011 increases by 48%.

Contractors found in noncompliance during audits for FY 2011 increases by 48%.

The Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP) reported that almost 30% of Affirmative Action Plan audits that it conducted in FY 2011 ended with a finding of noncompliance. This represents an increase of 48% over previous years. The state with the largest findings of noncompliance where an audit ended in a conciliation agreement was California. A conciliation agreement is used by OFCCP to correct any deficiencies and necessitates the contractor to submit additional data to the OFCCP, usually at 6 month time intervals. Historically, affirmative action conciliation agreements last two years and may include significant back-pay as well as reporting requirements.

Poor recordkeeping continues to be the number one reason federal contractors find themselves in noncompliance. OFCCP breaks violations down into 13 categories:

• Written AAP

• Past Performance

• Recordkeeping

• Recruitment

• Denial of Records or Access

• Hiring

• Promotion

• Termination

• Selection or Testing

• Salary

• Medical Screening

• Accommodation

• Systemic Discrimination

In the past year, we have seen OFCCP increase its affirmative action audit focus on veterans outreach, inadequate recordkeeping of applicants, and compensation.

Clients that continue to face the largest challenge are those that delay the preparation of their AAP or have transitioned into “reactive mode” and only prepare their AAP when they receive the OFCCP’s scheduling letter. This places a huge burden on them to reproduce records that can encompass up to three years of data.

We strongly suggest that our clients be proactive with their recordkeeping and outreach efforts for veterans and organizations that support employment for individuals with disabilities.

Who is Career Resources, Inc.

Founded in 1979, Career Resources is a privately owned company which develops Affirmative Action and Diversity Plans, provides Diversity and Affirmative Action Plan implementation, online e-Learning courses, Sexual Harassment Training, EEOC and OFCCP vulnerability audits, OFCCP audit support used by hundreds of organizations nationwide including fortune 500 companies and small/medium size businesses in all industries. For more information about Career Resources, Inc., go tohttp://www.crincorporated.com or email us INFO at Career Resources, Inc.

OFCCP Sets Quota’s for Affirmative Action Contractors

In recent news the OFCCP made the decision to establish a 7% nationwide utilization goal for individuals with disabilities affecting federal contractors with affirmative action and affirmative action plan responsibilities. If the OFCCP chooses to establish a required utilization goal, the criteria that the goal be set for each and every single job group is overly burdensome and impractical.

1st, the number of analyses necessary to be performed at the job group level would be challenging. Most affirmative action plan contractors have lots of job groups at each organization and in some cases hundreds of establishments. The affirmative action plan contractor would have to complete the necessary measurements for each job group at each establishment.

2nd, the absence of the information required to conduct the calculations at this degree places a particular irrational burden upon the affirmative action plan contractors. While contractors can gather and save race and gender records by individual, and thus can perform the necessary gender and race utilization analyses, the proposed legal requirements calls for anonymous collection with regards to disability status information. This is what makes utilization analyses of individuals with a disability by job group impossible.

Due to the fact federal contractors are found across different industries, as part of different geographical segments, along with different jobs and also job criteria and have differing quantities of vacancies to fill at any given time across-the-board national utilization goal for individuals with a disability is arbitrary.

Therefore, an arbitrary, rigid goal seems to have virtually no interpretation for companies, especially if they conclude that virtually no amount of good faith efforts will permit them to achieve an impractical goal.

The OFCCP’s unrealistic estimate that this would take 60 minutes the first year and 30 minutes total in subsequent years for each contractor is woefully lacking. The reality is that it will to take companies hours to process the utilization of individuals with disabilities. The ideal suggestion would be for OFCCP to enable companies to continue their current affirmative action efforts pertaining to the selection of individuals with disabilities and judge contractors upon their total beneficial results and keep utilising the Vets 100 and Vets 100A report as a device to evaluate contractors success.

Who is Career Resources, Inc.

Founded in 1979, Career Resources is a privately owned company which develops Affirmative Action and Diversity Plans, provides Diversity and Affirmative Action Plan implementation, online e-Learning courses, Sexual Harassment Training, EEOC and OFCCP vulnerability audits, OFCCP audit support used by hundreds of organizations nationwide including fortune 500 companies and small/medium size businesses in all industries. For more information about Career Resources, Inc., go tohttp://www.crincorporated.com or email us INFO at Career Resources, Inc.

OFCCP Off The Mark with Regulation Changes to Section 503

OFCCP’s proposed rule pertaining to the establishment of a nationwide utilization goal to measure the overall performance of contractor’s affirmative action plan efforts under the Section 503 Regulations is not plausible.

The suggested legal guidelines fail to distinguish between levels of jobs and will impose excessive stress on companies with affirmative action plan requirements, especially in light of the current existence of more result oriented ways to augment companies’ with affirmative action plan recruitment and regard of individuals with a impairment.

The OFCCP suggest to initiate a sole, nationwide application goal for people with a impairments at 7%. The Affirmative Action Agency, OFCCP, had chosen this percentage formulated upon estimates from different resources, like as the American Community Survey.

Unfortunately, as noted by the OFCCP, the queries Americans are asked about impairments in this study were based on a standard differing from Section 503 Regulations. Even though OFCCP claims that the meaning of “disability” in this study was obviously not as wide as utilized in Section 503, it is purely assuming how this impacted participants.

With no persistent classifications, the outcomes are useless for implementing a goal for employment of individuals with impairments. This exceedingly is true if the study failed to differentiate among the individuals with a handicap who are looking for work versus those who are not.

While in sum, some sort of all-embracing nationwide utilization goal for people with a impairments is literally absolute. In the case when goals or perhaps random bench marks turns out to be a criteria, which, it should not, companies must be granted the independence to analyze an adequate goal for each organization formulated upon a wide array of standards, such as the size of the company, kind of commerce, total no. of job available, selection rates, the kinds of job the company have now that can promote, and geographical area. An irrelavent and rigid objective definitely will produce drastically less importance due to companies, especially since no amount of good faith efforts will allow them to garner an impractical goal.

Who is Career Resources, Inc.

Founded in 1979, Career Resources is a privately owned company which develops Affirmative Action and Diversity Plans, provides Diversity and Affirmative Action Plan implementation, online e-Learning courses, Sexual Harassment Training, EEOC and OFCCP vulnerability audits, OFCCP audit support used by hundreds of organizations nationwide including fortune 500 companies and small/medium size businesses in all industries. For more information about Career Resources, Inc., go tohttp://www.crincorporated.com or email us INFO at Career Resources, Inc.