In response to contractor concerns and recommendations from the Government Accountability Office, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has released a Town Hall Action Plan.  This plan is based on the feedback that the OFCCP received during various town hall meetings held in 2017. 

The OFCCP states that it identified three main areas of focus:  training, communication, and trust.  To achieve its objectives in these areas, the OFCCP has unveiled three initiatives:

• Review and enhance compliance assistance
• Assess and improve the quality of training and education for compliance officers
• Increase transparency and communication with contractors

The OFCCP also provided a “non-exhaustive” list of proposed deliverables to achieve these goals.  These include the following:

• Supply & Service Technical Assistance Guide
• Construction Technical Assistance Guide
• Academic Institution Technical Assistance Guide
• New and Small Technical Assistance Guide
• Mega Construction tools and resources
• Internet Applicant definition infographic
• Recordkeeping infographic
• Postings and Notices Requirements Guide
• "OFCCP At A Glance" brochure
• Standardized and written training protocols
• Improved contractor and Compliance Officer training
• Policy Guidance that supports transparency
• "What Federal Contractors Can Expect" booklet
• Roadmap to a Compliance Evaluation for Contractors
• Online community of practice
• Contractor recognition programs
• Encourage the use of apprenticeships
• Ombudsman program

This is yet another step taken by the OFCCP in recent months to respond to criticism regarding its lack of transparency and abusive tactics.  One of the agency’s proposals is to create a contractor “bill of rights” to outline what contractors can expect during their interactions with the agency and to address “timeliness, accuracy, communication, confidentiality, and professionalism.”  Is that a collective sigh of relief that I hear from the contractor community?