Contents
   Increased Audit Activity
   Applicant Issue Unsettled
   2000 EEO Census Data Released
   Government Reporting Reevaluated

Increased Audit Activity top ^
Probably the most significant change for federal contractors this year has been the increase in the number of audits. According to Department of Labor figures released last month, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) conducted 7,709 compliance evaluations in fiscal year 2003 and obtained financial remedies of $26,220,356. We can expect a continued high level of audit activity in 2004 as the OFCCP focuses on uncovering systemic discrimination in compensation and hiring.

Applicant Issue Unsettled top ^
The task force set up to define "applicant" was given three more extensions in 2003 and will likely get another by not meeting its latest deadline of December 31, 2003. However, the OFCCP has been closing audits in 2003 without resolving the applicant issue. At this stage, it is anyone's guess as to when this issue will finally be resolved.

2000 EEO Census Data Released top ^
The United States Census Bureau has released the Special EEO File (though not in its entirety) that contains the data used to calculate the availability of women and minorities for various occupations and categories. However, the file is still in a relatively unwieldy format and most affirmative action program (AAP) software vendors predict it will be a few months before software will be updated to incorporate the new data. With this in mind, the OFCCP has indicated that it will not expect federal contractors with January AAP start dates to use the 2000 data.

The Special EEO File can be downloaded from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website at www.eeoc.gov/stats/census or searched on the Census Bureau website at www.census.gov/eeo2000.

Government Reports Reevaluated top ^
Although the three government reports required of federal contractors (EEO-1 Report, VETS-100, and EO Survey) remained the same in 2003, all three are currently being examined and changes discussed. The EEO-1 Report will likely remain the same in 2004 but proposed changes are being evaluated. The VETS-100 Report will likely change in 2004 to reflect changes in veteran definitions. The EO Survey is currently being evaluated by the OFCCP to determine its utility.

If you have any questions about information presented here, please give us a call. We are happy to discuss what the changes may mean for your organization.