As we previously reported, the US Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) announced back in August 2022, that it had received a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request from the Center for Investigative Reporting (“CIR”), for any and all Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Reports for 2016-2020 (“Consolidated Reports”) filed by federal contractors (“Covered Contractors”). In response to the request, OFCCP has provided Covered Contractors with the opportunity to object to the release of the Reports and on February 15 extended the deadline for objections to March 3, 2023.
The extension follows the OFCCP posting a list (the “List”) on February 2, 2023, updated on February 10, 2023, of all entities that, according to its records, were Covered Contractors that had not submitted an objection to the release of their Consolidated Reports. (The update corrected the List to remove entities that asserted they were not federal contractors and Covered Contractors that had objected to the disclosure but were still on the List).
In its February 15, 2023 notice, the OFCCP stated that it provided the List to ensure that the OFCCP has correctly identified contractors that have not objected and whose EEO-1 data would therefore be subject to disclosure in response to CIR’s FOIA request. The OFCCP is therefore providing another opportunity for entities identified as Covered Contractors to review the List and notify OFCCP no later than March 3, 2023, if they believe they have been improperly included. OFCCP will consider any of the following reasons for removal:
- The entity believes it was not a federal contractor during the relevant period;
- The Covered Contractor previously submitted an objection to the disclosure of its Consolidated Reports; and newly articulated by the OFCCP
- There are entities associated with the Covered Contractor that should be covered within the objection previously submitted, including merged companies, subsidiaries.
All responses must be received no later than March 3, 2023, by 11:59 p.m. EST, via email to OFCCP-FOIA-EEO1-Questions@dol.gov. If a Covered Contractor wants to object for the first time to disclosure on any grounds other than from claiming they are not a federal contractor and were improperly included on the List, the objection must include an explanation as to why the Covered Contractor did not previously object, and why there is good cause for the OFCCP to accept the objection at this time.
The OFCCP will publish a second updated List by March 10, 2023, which will remove contractors that submitted objections. Contractors will then have one final opportunity to contact OFCCP, no later than March 17, 2023, if they believe they have been improperly listed.
If you find your organization is on the list and should not be, or you are preparing for the first time to object to the disclosure of your EEO-1 Type 2 data, Epstein Becker Green attorneys are ready to assist you with your response or to discuss why an objection may (or may not) be warranted.
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