Yesterday OFCCP announced that it is extending the deadline to respond to and submit objections pursuant to its August 19, 2022, Notice in the Federal Register regarding a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request from Will Evans, a Senior Reporter and Producer with the Center for Investigative Reporting (“CIR”). The request seeks federal contractors’ Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Report Data. For a discussion of the scope of the request and additional details about the substance and process of objecting, click here.

What Has Changed?

OFCCP indicated that after publishing the Notice in the Federal Register, it had received numerous requests from contractors and contractor representatives to extend the time period for submitting objections. In addition, during this same time period, some federal contractors have reached out to OFCCP seeking to verify whether they are included in the universe of “Covered Contractors” during the requested timeframe for the reports. To accommodate these concerns, OFCCP has extended the deadline to submit objections by a month – from September 19, 2022, to October 19, 2022.

Further, OFCCP will also be taking the additional step of emailing contractors that OFCCP believes are covered by the FOIA request. OFCCP will use the email addresses provided by contractors registered in OFCCP’s Contractor Portal, as well as the email addresses provided as a contact for the EEO-1 report when submitted. This undertaking should provide some clarity to contractors who are unsure if they are within the scope of the FOIA request.

Important Reminders

OFCCP has created a Portal for submitting objections to the FOIA request, and has provided FAQs to aid in determining if a contractor is covered by the request and how to object to the request. In addition, OFCCP has provided direction for seeking assistance by contacting the OFCCP FOIA Help Desk by phone or email.

What Happens Next?

If you do not submit an objection to the FOIA request, then OFCCP will release the data to CIR as a part of a rolling production after October 19. If you do submit an objection, OFCCP will independently evaluate the objections and make a determination regarding withholdings under Exemption 4. Both the objector and CIR will receive notice of a determination to withhold data.

If there is information in your EEO-1 Reports that you don’t want published or accessible to competitors, act quickly to submit objections to OFCCP prior to the October 19 deadline. Otherwise, you should expect that your report’s data may be provided to a reporter who will make it public.