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OFCCP to Place Special Emphasis on Construction Industry Compliance

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), responsible for ensuring that contractors doing business with the federal government do not discriminate and take affirmative action, will soon begin conducting compliance reviews of construction contractors who receive funding and grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).  According to OFCCP's Recovery Act Plan, the majority of ARRA funding and grants will provide direct funding or federal assistance to construction projects and "consequently, OFCCP will place a special emphasis on the construction industry."  Beginning in July 2009, OFCCP will begin to review a minimum of 360 construction contractors and 90 supply and service contractors, including at least 10% of first-time federal contractors.  These reviews will be followed by quarterly compliance evaluations through September 30, 2010.    To help contractors maintain compliance with the agency's guidelines, OFCCP plans to host a series of compliance events to be held periodically through the September 30 date, including nine national events and six webinars specifically for federal construction contractors, new federal contractors and contracting officers.  Additionally, OFCCP plans to host 93 regional compliance events, 11 regional forums, and a national Prevailing Wage Conference, which will address prevailing wage issues as they relate to ARRA over two-and-a-half days. Additional OFCCP compliance resources for construction contractors include AGC's Davis-Bacon Manual on Labor Standards for Federal and Federally Assisted Construction and Affirmative Action Manual for Construction, which can be found on AGC's Labor and HR Topical Resources Web page.