As part of President Obama's initiative to improve the working life of American families, the Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that enhances the reporting requirements for federal contractors. Issued on August 6, 2014, the proposed rule would apply to federal contractors with more than 100 employees that file EEO-1 reports and hold federal contracts or sub-contracts worth $50,000 or more for at least thirty days.

The new rule requires federal contractors and subcontractors to file an annual Equal Pay Report in addition to their EEO-1 report. The proposed requirements would mandate that contractors and subcontractors provide summary pay data broken down into certain categories, including sex, race, ethnicity and job category. The OFCCP intends to create an online portal for reporting and maintaining this compensation data. The OFCCP intends to use this data to identify those contractors whose summary data reflect potential pay violations. By collecting more specific data from contractors, the OFCCP believes it can better target its enforcement efforts towards those who are likely out of compliance with its regulations.

The rule was published in the Federal Register on August 8, 2014. All comments must be received by November 6, 2014. To access a copy of the proposed rule, visit http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/EPR.