Friday, November 15, 2019: OFCCP Midwest Updates from Indy ILG Gives Insight into OFCCP’s Nationwide Audit Plans
The Indiana Industry Liaison Group (ILG) welcomed OFCCP Deputy Regional Director (and current Acting Director) of the Midwest, Carmen Navarro, to her first local ILG meeting. Navarro, who has been with the Agency for over 20 years, shared several updates from the region. The Midwest region includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Midwest Staffing
The Regional Director position is in the process of being filled. There are currently 80 employees in the region, and roughly 50 of those are compliance officers (five in Indianapolis). OFCCP expects to backfill upcoming retirements, one of which is the District Director in Chicago, Michael Thomas.
Midwest Audits
Of the 500 Section 503 Focused Reviews from the March 2019 CSAL, 111 are in OFCCP’S Midwest region. Twenty have been scheduled (four of those are in Indy, the first one slotted for next week). These Reviews will focus on accommodations: requests, denials, processes, and procedures. Also, be prepared for interview requests with individuals who have self-identified as having had/have a disability.
The average time for audits to close (those with no signs of discrimination) is between 200-300 days. For audits with indicators of discrimination, that average is at 733 days (over two years) in the region.
Of the 500 VEVRAA Focused Reviews OFCCP identified last week in a new CSAL supplementing the March 2019 CSAL, 104 are in the Midwest region. With such a large number of audits remaining from the March 2019 CSAL (only 300 of the Region’s 700 completed) the OFCCP does not expect the VEVRAA Focused Reviews to start until mid-year 2020 in the Midwest. The Agency plans to interview military spouses in these Reviews, looking for potential discrimination such as failure to hire or promote. There is a concern that military spouses are denied employment or overlooked for promotions due to apprehension about the short period of time they typically remain on station before their military spouse transfers to a new duty station. (Context: John Fox, a former dependent of an Army officer, reports growing up in 17 states and two continents before the age of 17.) A member of the ILG audience quipped that military spouses stay longer than millennials!
The Deputy Director also stressed that the Agency is looking at parental leave. In particular, if an organization has a parental leave policy, it must be applied equally to men and women.
Navarro plans to make her way to as many local ILG meetings as possible. She was kind enough to answer questions before, during, and after her presentation. She explained that technical assistance has been (and will continue to be) offered to contractors selected for audits. The Agency is also looking to do more virtual training to reach a wider audience.