As contractors start to see new scheduling letters arrive from OFCCP’s latest round of advance notification letters, OFCCP has new opportunities to demonstrate its commitment to transparency, through implementation of the Agency’s recently released Directive 2018-08: Transparency in OFCCP Compliance Activities. The Agency’s stated philosophy is that transparency should “guide OFCCP staff during
Laura A. Mitchell
Laura Mitchell is a principal in the Denver office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and leads the firm’s Workplace Analytics and Preventive Strategies Pay Equity subgroup. She partners with employers to evaluate, develop and implement policies and practices that ensure workplace fairness while mitigating legal risk. Laura is a guiding force in the firm’s most specialized and technical practice areas where she leverages an analytics-focused approach to partner with her clients in building legally compliant programs around which they can anchor their workplaces achieving productivity and stability.
Laura understands that creating a competitive advantage for employers in today’s workplace involves using a data-driven approach to counsel companies on the development of proactive and equitable non-discriminatory practices in hiring, promotions, separations and pay—and where advancements in technology can create both opportunities for efficiencies and risk that can be measured. Committed to putting her clients’ organizational goals first and foremost while balancing legal risk, Laura views herself as an extension of her clients’ team, responsible for providing proactive guidance and engaging in transparent, ongoing communication. Staying the course with employers across their organizational journey while balancing legal compliance obligations throughout their employees’ lifecycle ensures Laura’s position as a go-to resource.
Laura works with companies across all industries—both new and well-established multi-national organizations of all sizes—to realize the combined vision of legal compliance, increased productivity and economic growth enhanced by a focus on pay equity. As part of the pay equity journey, she advises employers on the evolving pay transparency landscape, working to align compliant practices with the practical realities of the business world.
Laura partners closely with government contractors to understand, implement and demonstrate compliance with their EEO regulatory and compliance obligations. She also works closely with non-government contractor clients to conduct risk assessments of their programs, policies, and training to align with federal and state anti-discrimination requirements.
Laura is the editor and a principal contributor of the GovCon Employment Exchange blog and presents on pay equity and government contractor obligations. To round out her days, Laura enjoys spending time with her family and friends attending sports events, working out, riding her bike, playing pickleball and taking in Colorado’s incomparable sunsets.
OFCCP Seeks Public Comment on Leadership in Equal Access and Diversity Award
By Laura A. Mitchell and Suzanne Donnelly Corwin
Late last week, OFCCP published a notice in the federal register seeking public comment regarding its proposed Leadership in Equal Access and Diversity (“LEAD”) Award. The LEAD award will
recognize federal contractor and subcontractor establishments that have developed and successfully implemented comprehensive equal employment opportunity and
…
OFCCP Seeking Comment on Contractor Disability Inclusion Recognition Program
Appearing in today’s federal register is OFCCP’s request for comment on the proposed structure and details of the agency’s new Excellence in Disability Inclusion Award. The award
will highlight successful practices and strategies of contractors that have expanded and improved recruitment, hiring, retention, and promotion opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
In August, at the ILG…
OFCCP and National Industry Liaison Group Enter into Memorandum of Understanding
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…
OFCCP Revises Latest CSAL List
It appears OFCCP has made some updates to its latest Corporate Scheduling Announcement List release. When accessing the current publicly available list through OFCCP’s website, the resulting file now displays a header which indicates the file contains “addresses updated as of September 24, 2018.” Upon close review and comparison with the original list posted last…
OFCCP Makes CSAL List Supplement Publicly Available
Wondering whether your organization has been selected for an upcoming audit as part of OFCCP’s recent Corporate Scheduling Announcement Letter (CSAL) list supplement? Well, wonder no more. OFCCP has made publicly available its most recent CSAL supplement as well as the two previous CSAL lists (2017 and 2018).
As a reminder, CSALs…
Breaking News: OFCCP Releases Compliance Transparency and Ombud Service Directives
There is no rest for the weary at OFCCP. Continuing the steady flow of Directives and proposals as well as audits coming out of Washington D.C., the Agency has released two additional directives in furtherance of the Administration’s commitment to transparency and certainty.
The first, Directive 2018-08: Transparency in OFCCP Compliance Activities will “ensure…
OFCCP Seeks to Favorably Tweak Requirements to Encourage Contractors to Consider Functional Affirmative Action Plans
Has your organization ever considered switching from “establishment” AAPs to functional affirmative action plans (“FAAPs”)? OFCCP wants contractors to consider moving to FAAPs and, in that spirit, is looking to make FAAPs more attractive by proposing new FAAP requirements that would lighten the burden for those who apply for, and those that already have, FAAP…
Complimentary Webinar: What You Need to Know About OFCCP’s New Compensation Directive
It’s been a little more than two weeks since OFCCP released its new Compensation Directive. While we don’t yet have answers to all of the questions surrounding the Directive, we do have thoughts about what will likely change, and what will not, for federal contractors during compliance reviews. Since OFCCP has just released…
Additional Information on OFCCP’s Latest Round of CSALs
As we reported last week, OFCCP has released a supplemental list of contractors who have been selected for audit by the Agency. In addition to releasing information about the supplemental list of CSALs, OFCCP also published a new FAQ addressing requests for extensions and a supplement to its recently disclosed scheduling methodology.
Request…