Responding to recommendations from a 2016 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report and input gathered from succeeding Compliance Assistance Town Halls and stakeholder meetings, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has released its “Town Hall Action Plan” addressing “three general areas of focus: training, communication and trust.”

Registration and hotel reservations are open for the June 5 tour of the International Union of Operating Engineers’ brand new International Training & Conference Center in Crosby, TX.

On April 18, AGC submitted a response to the National Labor Relations Board’s Request for Information regarding representation-case procedures. AGC also signed onto a response submitted by the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW). Both responses call on the Board to rescind or modify its 2014 rule that changed the procedures for union representation elections. The rule is often called the “quickie” or “ambush” election rule because it expedites the procedures in a way that can disadvantage employers that oppose a union organizing campaign.

On April 12, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued 3 new opinion letters addressing compliance under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and other laws. The DOL issued the letters as part of its commitment to protect employees, enforce the law, and ensure employers have the tools for compliance.

On April 11, the Senate confirmed John F. Ring’s appointment to the National Labor Relations Board for a term expiring on December 16, 2022. Once Ring is sworn in, the Board will return to a full complement of five members, with a three-to-two Republican majority. Ring is currently a partner at the law firm of Morgan Lewis & Bockius in Washington, DC, where he co-leads the firm’s Labor-Management Relations Practice representing employers in a variety of labor and employment matters. He has been with the firm his entire legal career, starting in 1988.

International Union of Operating Engineers Pres. Jim Callahan has invited AGC members and staff to tour the union’s brand new International Training & Conference Center in Crosby, TX, on June 5. AGC is in the process of arranging hotel accommodations at a hotel at Bush Intercontinental Airport in nearby Houston for June 4 and will host a breakfast on June 5. Transportation to the Center will also be provided. The tour will begin around 10:00 a.m., followed by lunch hosted by the Operating Engineers.

On March 30, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) hiring benchmark for 2018. Effective March 31, 2018, the hiring benchmark will be 6.4 percent, down from 6.7 percent in 2017. This benchmark is an annual goal for the percentage of hires who are veterans at each affirmative action plan (AAP) establishment.

On April 3, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) began officially accepting applications for the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program and provided supplemental information about participation on the program’s website. The PAID program website includes information for an employer to determine the criteria for participating in the program, a brief description of compliance assistance materials, and the required elements of a self-audit. The site also includes details on how the program works and the process for the payment of wages. WHD will conduct a public webinar on Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at 1:00 pm Eastern time to provide an overview of the PAID program.

The use of the “Segal Blend” interest assumption to calculate a withdrawing company’s multiemployer pension liability was a “mistake” and unsupported by the record, according to the decision in The New York Times Co. v. Newspapers & Mail Deliverers’-Publishers’ Pension Fund, No. 1:17-cv-06178-RWS (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 26, 2018). This decision may have broad consequences for multiemployer pension plans and contributing employers, because the Segal Blend method is used by many of the largest multiemployer plans in the United States. It will most likely be appealed to the Second Circuit federal court of appeals.

As part of its ongoing efforts to increase transparency of preliminary findings with federal contractors, achieve consistency across regional and district offices, and encourage communication throughout the compliance evaluation process, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has issued Directive 2018-01 standardizing the use of Predetermination Notices (PDN). A PDN is a letter that OFCCP uses to inform federal contractors and subcontractors of the agency’s preliminary findings of employment discrimination. In recent years, OFCCP has typically reserved use of the PDN for systemic discrimination cases and permitted regional and district offices discretion in whether to issue the PDN prior to issuing a Notice of Violation (NOV). The intent of Directive 2018-01 is to provide a uniform protocol for OFCCP staff to follow across all of its regions for using PDNs in both individual and systemic discrimination cases.