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Category: Government Contracts

Federal Court Blocks Attempt To End PLA Mandate for Large Construction Projects

A federal court has issued a preliminary injunction that effectively requires federal contracting agencies to continue to require Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for large-scale construction projects. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia made the ruling May 16 in North America’s Building Trades Unions v. Department of Defense. In January 2024, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council implemented...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

President Trump Proposes Eliminating OFCCP

President Trump’s FY 2026 budget request proposes abolishing the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. Under this proposal, OFCCP’s enforcement of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) would shift to the Labor Department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (DOL-VETS), and OFCCP’s enforcement of Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act would shift to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The proposed...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

DOJ Launches Civil Rights Fraud Initiative Targeting Federal Contractors

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a civil rights fraud initiative that will use the False Claims Act (FCA) to investigate federal contractors’ civil rights violations, DOJ announced May 19. The initiative will be led jointly by DOJ’s Civil Division's Fraud Section — which enforces the False Claims Act, and DOJ’s Civil Rights Division — which enforces civil rights laws....
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Category: Compensation

Biden Administration Withdraws Proposed Federal Contractor Pay Transparency Rule

The Biden Administration has withdrawn its proposed federal contractor pay transparency regulations. The regulations would have prohibited federal contractors from considering job applicants’ compensation history and would have required contractors to disclose the compensation for work on federal contracts in their job advertisements. The Biden Administration has also withdrawn the government-wide procurement policy, adopted in response to Executive Order 14069, on which the...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

OFCCP Audits, Financial Remedies Decreased in FY 2024

OFCCP had a slow year in FY 2024, awarding less money in discrimination cases to fewer class members and completing fewer audits than at any time in recent memory, according to enforcement data released by the agency. The data, which cover the period from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024, show that OFCCP completed 14% fewer supply-and-service (non-construction) audits...
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Category: Discrimination and Harassment

OFCCP Publishes Guide on Combatting Harassment in the Construction Industry

The Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has published A Guide to Combatting Harassment in the Construction Industry. The guide, released in November, uses a question-and-answer format. Though the guide focuses on federal construction contractors, other employers can use it to better understand and prevent harassment in the workplace. The guide explains that construction contractors have an affirmative obligation...
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Category: Compliance Reporting and Recordkeeping

OFCCP Construction Contractor Utilization Report Due April 2025 (and Every Month Thereafter)

Federal construction contractors and subcontractors must begin filing their monthly CC-257 forms April 15, 2025, the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs announced. Employers that have a federal construction contract or subcontract, or a contract in which federal funds pay for construction work worth more than $10,000, must submit a Monthly Employment Utilization Report (CC-257) to OFCCP on...
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Category: Executive Order

Ninth Circuit Rules Federal Contractor Minimum Wage Increase Exceeded Biden’s Authority

President Biden exceeded his authority by issuing Executive Order 14026 raising the federal contractor minimum wage to $15 per hour, a federal appeals court ruled November 5 in Nebraska v. Su. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit also held that the U.S. Department of Labor acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it published implementing regulations. The Ninth Circuit...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

OFCCP Posts New “CSAL” Flagging 2000 Entities for Compliance Audits

OFCCP’s latest Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL) puts some 2,000 federal contractor entities on notice that they’ve been flagged for an upcoming compliance audit. According to the newly posted FY 2025 CSAL Supply & Service Scheduling List, Release – 1 and updated FAQs, OFCCP has identified 1,880 establishments for standard compliance reviews, 60 establishments for Corporate Management Compliance Evaluation (CMCE) reviews, 48 entities...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

Labor Department Enjoined From Enforcing E.O. 11246 Claim Against Federal Contractor

A federal district court has temporarily blocked the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs from continuing enforcement proceedings against a  janitorial services company that allegedly violated Executive Order 11246 by engaging in racially discriminatory hiring. The September 9 ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas came in ABM Industry Groups v. U.S. Department of Labor....

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