Affirmative Action Programs (AAPs) Under OFCCP

AAPs, or affirmative action programs, describe a company’s plans, procedures, and policies for effectively recruiting, employing, educating, and promoting veterans, individuals with disabilities, women, and minorities to guarantee that everyone has an equal chance at employment. The OFCCP, under the Department of Labor, ensures the AAP compliance of all contractors or organizations. It is essential for firms to be OFCCP compliant to earn federal contracts or subcontracts. AAPs allow employers to identify any or all kinds of discrimination in their organization and help develop plans to eliminate them.

Elements to be included in AAPs.

The AAP must contain some quantitative analyses, including:

• Analysis of job groups
• Organizational profile
• Placement goals
• Assessment of the availability
• Incumbent placement in different job groups
• Utilization analysis or comparison of availability to incumbency
• Analyses of impact ratios for promotions, new hires, and terminations

AAPs – The different types

There are mainly three types of AAPs:

Construction AAPs

AAPs for the construction industry follow a unique set of rules and specifications. The OFCCP does not require construction companies to create written AAPs for minorities or women. They must, however, comply with the stipulated procedures for compliance and meet the established utilization objectives. For veterans and people with disabilities, hiring benchmarks, data collection, written AAPs, and utilization goals are necessary.

Functional AAPs

Functional AAPs organize people by department or corporate responsibility. Functional plans are effective for significant corporations that handle different business units in a single location and firms with a geographically dispersed workforce. In this case, the employer will be audited by the OFCCP minimum of once every three years.

Establishment-based AAPs

The majority of AAPs are establishment-based. This is a requirement for organizations with an employee count of 50 or higher. If the number of employees at a particular location is less than 50, then they are covered in the AAP establishment of their supervisor’s or HR departments’ location.

Laws mandating affirmative action

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), acting through the OFCCP, is responsible for upholding the laws controlling the affirmative action obligations of a contractor. The government also provides enormous amounts of advice and information about adhering to these rules. The federal rules mandating contractors to implement affirmative action plans and create annual AAPs include:

The Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)

This act stipulates subcontractors and contractors with contracts worth at least $150,000 and an employee count of 50 or more to hire and promote protected veterans in their firms, including disabled veterans, recently discharged veterans, and veterans decorated with medals.

Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

This rule deals with providing equal opportunities for people with disabilities. Subcontractors and contractors who have federal contracts worth more than $15,000 are expected to make an effort to hire and promote qualified people with disabilities. Also, federal contractors with a minimum of 50 employees and contracts worth $50,000 or more are required to prepare written AAPs.

Executive Order 11246

This law forbids government subcontractors and contractors from discriminating based on religion, race, sex, color, national origin, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

The companies that require AAPs under Executive Order 11246 include:

• firms that have fifty or more employees in the United States,
• firms with a subcontract or contract with the United States federal government worth $50,000 or more,
• firms with 50 or more employees act as a repository for any government money.

Conclusion

AAPs are an important part of every organization working with the federal government. They are not goals to be met. But rather, they show that a company has already taken steps to eliminate discrimination in the organization and is continuously striving to represent the vulnerable sections of society.

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