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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

Commerce Department Is Seeking Input From Private Sector Businesses on Their DEIA Efforts

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) wants to hear from companies about their diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) efforts. In response to President Biden’s Executive Orders (E.O.) 13985 and 14091, which call for expanding federal government equity initiatives, the Commerce Department developed a set of draft Business Diversity Principles (BDPs) to describe the private sector’s best DEIA practices. DOC’s draft principles...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

CWC’s Primer on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Since the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the race-conscious admissions policies used by Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (UNC), critics of affirmative action and corporate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs have claimed that the ruling supports legal challenges to corporate employment policies and programs. The Court’s ruling was limited to the higher education context, but the Justices...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

Fresh After Affirmative Action College Admissions Case Win, Plaintiffs Turn to Private Sector

Affirmative action opponents are following their successful Supreme Court challenge of the admissions policies of Harvard and the University of North Carolina by suing entities in the private sector for allegedly discriminatory race-based employment practices. The American Alliance for Equal Rights filed lawsuits against two major law firms, alleging race-based discrimination in their fellowship programs for summer interns. A separate...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

State Democratic AGs Counter GOP AGs Letter Warning Companies That DEI Practices Will Be Scrutinized

A group of 21 Democratic State Attorneys General have sent a letter to Fortune 100 companies countering the letter sent to the same group recently by 13 Republican AGs warning the companies that their DEI practices must not discriminate on the basis of race. The dueling letters are the latest sign that DEI practices are under the spotlight following the...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

13 GOP State AGs Send Letter to Fortune 100 With Warning That DEI Practices Will Be Scrutinized

Seizing on the Supreme Court’s recent decision barring the consideration of race in college admissions, the Republican Attorneys General of 13 states have signed a letter notifying Fortune 100 companies that their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices are under scrutiny for potential race discrimination. Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

Supreme Court Rejects Race as Factor in College Admissions: Impact on Company CD&I Programs?

The consideration of race in the admissions processes at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (UNC) violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 29. The Court’s opinion does not appear to threaten federal contractors’ affirmative action plans that are consistent with current regulations. Still, because the...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

OFCCP Confirms Pending AAP-VI Help Desk Requests Effectively Waive June Filing Deadline

The Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has announced that federal contractors that were unable to meet the June 29 filing deadline for certifying compliance via the agency’s online Affirmative Action Program Verification Interface (AAP-VI) Contractor Portal will be considered to have filed a timely certification if they requested assistance from the AAP-VI Help Desk by that...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

“Unit Number” Issue Is Complicating OFCCP AAP-VI Portal Compliance

As the June 29, 2023, deadline approached for federal contractors and subcontractors to certify compliance with their AAP obligations via the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) online AAP-VI portal, an issue involving unit numbers arose for some federal contractors. OFCCP’s Contractor Portal requires every AAP establishment listing to have a unique Unit Number that aligns with the...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

OFCCP Reminds Federal Contractors That AAP-VI Certification Deadline Is June 29

The Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has notified federal contractors that the 2023 deadline for certifying compliance via the agency’s online “Affirmative Action Program Verification Interface (AAP-VI)” Contractor Portal is June 29. Contractors that fail to meet the deadline are more likely to be targeted for a compliance audit, the agency warned. Members of the Center...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

Center for Workplace Compliance Files Comments Urging OMB To Reject OFCCP’s Revised Scheduling Letter

Our affiliated non-profit association, the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) has filed comments with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) urging OMB to reject burdensome changes that the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has proposed to its compliance audit scheduling letter and accompanying itemized listing. OFCCP’s revised scheduling letter would require covered federal...

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