Today, OFCCP issued its long-anticipated Educational Institutions Technical Assistance Guide (“TAG”), designed to assist educational institutions with federal contracts “understand their obligations under the laws and regulations OFCCP enforces and to help them prepare for compliance evaluations.”

Acknowledging that educational institutions may face “unique challenges” in their compliance efforts, the TAG addresses a number of key issues, including:

• Guidance for determining whether the institution should develop a single AAP (g., for the campus or the university) or multiple AAPs;
• Clarification on when student employees should be included in, or excluded from, AAPs;
• Methods for developing job groups for instructional and non-instructional employees;
• Best practices for developing action-oriented programs;
• Discussion of how OFCCP will review promotion data; and
• Overview of OFCCP’s compensation analysis methodology.

While the TAG is useful, educational institutions must identify any content that goes beyond the regulatory requirements of Executive Order 11246, Section 503, and VEVRAA. OFCCP, as a matter of law, only can enforce the regulatory requirements, and the Agency cannot enforce any expanded obligations included in the TAG.

FortneyScott will provide a more in-depth analysis of the TAG for clients prior to the October 23, 2019 Town Hall OFCCP is holding for educational institutions.

For more information on the TAG or how educational institutions should respond to OFCCP compliance review, please contact your FortneyScott attorney or send us an e-mail with your question.