Affirmative Action

Ed C · February 2005

My company currently has less than 50 employees but we are growing and may soon reach 50 FTE's.
Any advice on where I can find some Affirmative Action information to prepare for the near future. (It still starts at the 50 employee number, correct?)

Don D · February 2005

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 02-03-05 AT 09:16AM (CST)[/font][br][br]No. Formal affirmative action programs, as required by the OFCCP and Executive Order 11246, are only required for businesses with certain dollar levels of government contracts or for subcontractors. If you are not one, don't get into this burdensome activity, no matter what your employment level.

(edit)Ray has added some language which shows you the cutoffs, but no information about developing an AAP, which was your question. Again, unless you are a government contractor, I can't recommend strongly enough that you have no reason to get into an AAP. And if you are a government contractor, you should already have received from the OFCCP a handbook detailing the AAP requirments. If not, you can find their number under DOL and request that they mail you the handbook.

If your company has a labor attorney, AND a gov't contract, I would start there, by asking him/her for a flat fee for developing your first AAP for you. If you do not have a labor attorney, you can ask any paralegal to give you a ballpark figure. Theirs will be a fifth of the one the attorney will give you. It is not an undertaking for the faint of heart or those who do not enjoy being swamped with data and detail.

ray a · February 2005

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 02-03-05 AT 05:18PM (CST)[/font][br][br]From the DOL website:

Executive Order 11246

OFCCP administers and enforces Executive Order 11246, as amended, which prohibits federal contractors and federally-assisted construction contractors and subcontractors, who do over $10,000 in Government business in one year from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION REQUIREMENTS

Each Government contractor with 50 or more employees and $50,000 or more in government contracts is required to develop a written affirmative action program (AAP) for each of its establishments.

The written AAP is required if you have 50 or more ee's and receive at least $50k in revenue from govt contracts.

edit: Actually Don, the only question mark Ed used was at the end of his last sentence asking if 50 was the magic number. I included info stating that that was true and additionally there had to be govt contracts involved too.

JJ · February 2005

Hi Ed,

We are an AA employer with well over $50,000 in federal contracts and 2,000 employees, so there is no doubt that we are required to have a written AA plan. It is a hassle. I have 2 full time employees devoted to writing and updating our plan and it takes most of their time. There are some good consultants out there and we have found in smaller operations it is cheaper to have a consultant write the plan and update it rather than to do it ourselves. I don't know where you are located but I use a guy in Tulsa, OK that is a retired OFCCP regional director. He really knows his stuff and doesn't charge an arm and a leg like some consultants. If you are interested, I will furnish his address and e-mail address upon request.

tracey · February 2005

Thank you for responding with the Tulsa gentleman's email. [email]traceyr@murray-aviation.com[/email]

JJ · February 2005

Hi Tracey,

I sent the address and contact information to your e-mail address. As a bank you probably should find out for sure whether you are required to have a written AA plan or not. This consultant can tell you for sure. Let me know if you don't receive the information.

HRinFL · February 2005

Ed:

I agree with Don, I would not head down that road if it is not necessary. I think if you want some language to identify that you do not use race, religion, national origin, etc. in employment decisions (such as hiring), I would put a blurb in your handbook stating that you are an equal opportunity employer and do not make decision based on someone's ... (list the protected categories). Include a policy identifying the correct person(s) for ees to share these type of concerns to (maybe a number for the HR department, EEO Mgr.).

By doing this, you have a practice that is distributed to ees and will give you something to refer to if you have legal issues claiming disparate treatment. Much more simple than developing and updating an AAP.

Since you have more than 15 ees, Title VII applies to you, so I would get something in writing to protect the employer. By the way, once you reach 50, you can look forward to FMLA!

Ed C · February 2005

Thanks for your reply. I'm encouraged since I'm the only one who would be available to do the work on AA. However, I'm puzzled because I was mailed a flyer from a law firm stating that 50 was the magic number. We are a bank; does that matter?

Gillian3 · February 2005

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 02-03-05 AT 03:17PM (CST)[/font][br][br]No, "contracts" is a funny term, as AA is administered. It could include grants from the federal government or federal funds flowing through a bank. Stay away if you can - the attorney is doing a scare tactic to make some money. You will know when you "have" to have one if you get an audit notice from the Office of Federal Contracts Compliance or a survey form from OFCCP which asks you to report the dates of your current AAP.

Don D · February 2005

Well, I wouldn't sit around and wonder if I were subject to compliance. The bank surely has an attorney who can find out if the home office has a government contract that rolls down to individual branches. But, if this came as a result of a blind mailing with nothing specific about your company, in all likelihood, it's as Gillian3 suggested. If you're curious, call the attorney who sent it and ask him why he sent it. But, 50 in and of itself is no magic trigger as relates to AA.

mushroomHR · February 2005

I agree with Don. Don't sit around and wait for the OFCCP to contact you. If they do and you don't have an AAP, they can be brutal. Even if you have an AAP they're very tough. Get in touch with someone to see if you qualify and if you do, get to work on a plan before you get that gut-wrenching letter from the government telling you they are going to audit your plan.

cthr · February 2005

Actually if you are a bank and you sell or redeem savings bonds in excess of $50,000, you are a government contractor and need an AAP if you have 50 or more employees. At your size, I would work with a consultant to write your plan. We have 244 employees and I do all the tracking, but an outside consultant writes our plan. Cost is not that much.

Ed C · February 2005

OK. This is the new piece of information that makes me think we may need a plan. May I ask how you knew about the savings bond qualifier?

HRCalico · February 2005

I called my state DOL and spent a half day in Omaha at the OFCCP office (for free!). I remember Don kind of snuffled at that, but they were very helpful and told me that once I sit down to write it, I will have questions, and to call or e-mail for help.

It's worth a try.

Don D · February 2005

I have never in my life, snuffled, not once. I was raised Baptist I'll have you know!

ray a · February 2005

...and we Baptists do not snuffle. x0:)

HRCalico · February 2005

Is that because the little old ladies always carry a tissue tucked in their sleeve? x:-/ I always wondered about that . . . :>)

JJ · February 2005

Don you should know that I am a not so good Methodist and we don't snuffle either!

cthr · February 2005

We are a credit union and that is our only government contract which means that we are required to have an AAP.

Affirmative Action

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