OFCCP Extends Deadline for EEO-1 Data FOIA Objections

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

The National Law Review
Thursday, September 15, 2022

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has extended the deadline for federal contractors and first-tier subcontractors to submit objections to a broad Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by an investigative reporter. The new deadline for filing objections is October 19, 2022.

On August 19, 2022, OFCCP published notice of a FOIA request seeking Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Report data filed by federal contractors and first-tier subcontractors for reporting years 2016 through 2020. The original deadline for objections was September 19, 2022. Contractors now have until October 19, 2022, to submit written objections through OFCCP’s Submitter Notice Response Portal, or by mail or email. According to OFCCP, it is extending the deadline “to ensure that Covered Contractors have time to ascertain whether they are covered and submit objections.” OFCCP also announced that it will “take the additional step of emailing contractors that OFCCP believes are covered by this FOIA request, using the email address provided by contractors that have registered in OFCCP’s Contractor Portal and the email addresses provided as a contact for the EEO-1 report.” If OFCCP does not receive an objection by October 19, 2022, information for contractors covered by the FOIA request will be released.

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Going Public With It – OFCCP Publishes Notice Regarding FOIA Request for All Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Reports – and Sets September 19 Deadline to Object

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

The National Law Review
Monday, August 29, 2022

On August 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) published a Notice in the Federal Register regarding a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request from Will Evans, a Senior Reporter and Producer with the Center for Investigative Reporting (“CIR”). The FOIA request seeks the disclosure of certain government contractor compliance reports submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The OFCCP is allowing affected contractors to submit objections to the FOIA request if they fear confidential commercial information may be disclosed and ultimately published.

The Scope of the Request
The FOIA request was initially made in January 2019 but has been amended multiple times and now seeks all Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Report demographic data submitted by federal contractors and first-tier subcontractors from 2016-2020. The request does not include EEO-1 requests from single-establishment (Type 1) contractors, other EEO-1 reports filed by Type 2 (multi-establishment) contractors or Component 2 reports with compensation data. Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Reports are consolidated reports of demographic data for all employees at headquarters as well as all establishments, categorized by race/ethnicity, sex, and job category. OFCCP estimates that nearly 15,000 companies filed reports subject to the FOIA request. A company can use the EEO-1 Online Filing System’s historic data to determine if they filed EEO-1 Reports between 2016 and 2020.

What If I Don’t Want My EEO-1 Reports Made Public?
FOIA grants the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency. However, there are certain exemptions that allow agencies to redact – or entirely withhold – certain requested information. In its Notice, the OFCCP states it believes that the information requested may be protected from disclosure under FOIA Exemption 4 – which protects disclosure of confidential commercial information.

Accordingly, OFCCP is now requesting that any federal contractor who filed a Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Report as a federal contractor between 2016 and 2020 and who wishes to object to the disclosure of the information submit an objection to the OFCCP by September 19, 2022.

How Do I Submit an Objection?
Because of the large number of affected companies, OFCCP has established a portal for contractors to submit written objections. While the OFCCP encourages the use of the portal, objections may also be submitted via email to OFCCPSubmitterResponses@dol.gov, or by mailing to “ATTN: FOIA Officer (FRN), Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Division of Management and Administrative Programs, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room C3325, Washington, DC 20210. All objections, however submitted, must be received by OFCCP by September 19, 2022.

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Colorado House panel votes to crack open records on wage-law violations

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Jeff Roberts, Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition
April 22, 2016

Information on employers who violate wage laws in Colorado shouldn’t be considered confidential “trade secrets,” a panel of state lawmakers decided Wednesday.

Currently, as Rocky Mountain PBS reported last spring, it is illegal for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment to disclose whether a company has cheated its workers. Under the state’s interpretation of a 100-year-old law, wage-theft complaints against employers must be kept from the public, even after an investigation is over and a citation has been issued.

HB 16-1347, which passed the House Judiciary Committee 11-0, would make citation and assessment information on wage-law violations available for inspection under the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) after an employer has exhausted all appeals.

“Right now, you can’t even get the information that a wage-law violation has happened and why,” said Rep. Jessie Danielson, the Wheat Ridge Democrat who introduced the bill. She said it’s “kind of ridiculous” the public is not permitted to know which employers have been found in violation of state laws governing the payment of wages, overtime and reimbursed expenses.

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Sunshine Week: Beat reporter shines light on schools’ use of federal contracts

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By Robert Brauchle

March 16, 2015

 

Reporter Ryan Murphy began 2014 with a tip that Isle of Wight County Schools may have skirted federal regulations in the construction of the new Georgie D. Tyler Middle School.

Using the state Freedom of Information Act to access copies of contracts, emails and bid documents, the Daily Press Isle of Wight County beat reporter found that the school division had omitted wage standards from the construction contract that are required under the federal Davis-Bacon Act. The effect was to lower the cost of construction by underpaying local workers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“I spent a couple of months digging into the documents and digging into legislation to figure out exactly what had happened,” Murphy said.

Murphy worked with school administrators to get the documents he needed.

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