On July 28, 2022, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued important clarifications about the certification process through its Federal Contractor Portal (Portal). As previously reported, the Portal is new this year and required federal contractors and subcontractors (contractors) to certify the status of their annual affirmative action plan (AAP) for each establishment before June 30, 2022. In its bulletin update communicated to subscribers by email, the OFCCP stated that — although the portal remains currently open — it has not extended the June 30 deadline and that contractors that have not yet registered and certified their AAP compliance should do so as soon as possible. But it also explained that the agency will consider those contractors that requested assistance from the OFCCP on or before June 30, 2022 — but have not yet completed registration or certification because of a pending request for assistance — to have met the June 30 deadline. 

The OFCCP also warned that contractors that have not certified their compliance will be more likely to appear on the OFCCP’s future pre-audit scheduling lists than those that have timely certified their compliance. Accordingly, contractors that have not used the Portal to certify compliance with AAP requirements, as well as contractors that have certified they have not developed or maintained an AAP as required by federal regulations, are at greater risk of being scheduled for an audit. 

The OFCCP further cautioned that it plans to provide a list of the contractors that have not certified compliance by September 1, 2022, to federal agency contracting officers. The contracting agencies may then notify contractors of their certification obligations.