In continued commitment to restoring the Agency’s relationship with the contractor community, OFCCP recently announced it has entered into a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with the National Industry Liaison Group (“NILG”) in order to foster collaboration between the federal contractor community and OFCCP.

For those not familiar with the organization, the NILG is a non-profit organization formed in 1992 that focuses on affirmative action and equal employment opportunity for federal contractors and other employers.  The NILG Board supports approximately 61 Industry Liaison Groups (“ILGs”), which are comprised of small, mid-sized and large federal contractors and subcontractors across the country. Local ILGs operate in every OFCCP region. “Because of its unique function as a facilitator of wide–ranging dialogue between federal agencies and the regulated community, the NILG is well–positioned to address important compliance and other issues regarding affirmative action and equal employment opportunity.”

Specifically, the MOU, contemplates a number of objectives:

• Exploring and resolving contractor compliance challenges that may be obstructing affirmative action and equal employment opportunity;
• Publicizing successful apprenticeship programs as a means to develop a pipeline of diverse workers; and,
• Improving OFCCP’s contractor education and compliance tools and resources, including an ongoing dialogue on providing more transparency to federal contractors regarding OFCCP’s compliance review process and procedures.

As part of the MOU, both parties have committed to foster the achievement of its objectives.  For example, OFCCP commits to:

• An annual meeting with the NILG to review the implementation of the MOU;
• Participate in NILG’s annual conference; and,
• Outreach initiatives that encourage NILG and local ILG members to provide constructive feedback on OFCCP’s compliance evaluation process, education, outreach, and compliance assistance activities.

Some of the NILG’s commitments include:

• Using the annual OFCCP meeting to constructively identify and explore concerns raised by contractors related to OFCCP’s compliance evaluation process and the training and education barriers that effect contractor compliance;
• Working cooperatively with OFCCP to ensure the usefulness of regional or local ILG–OFCCP meetings as compliance assistance opportunities; and,
• Proactively informing members of local ILGs of OFCCP initiatives, events, and other opportunities that provide contractors an opportunity to give OFCCP constructive feedback about its program.

We look forward to this renewed spirit of cooperation between OFCCP, the NILG and the contractor community.