Summary from the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 4, 2006:
The OFCCP made a
ruling in Oct 2005 requiring Federal government contractors to
collect and retain records about gender, race, and ethnicity of each
"Internet Applicant" for employment. The ruling became effective Feb
6, 2006 but the OFCCP granted a 90 day grace period from this
effective date for contractors to comply with the new record keeping
requirements. Note: The requirement to retain records regarding the
hiring process is not a new obligation for contractors. The new
requirement to retain records applies more broadly than the
requirement to solicit demographic information from "Internet
Applicants." The OFCCP essentially performs the following: (1)
administers and enforces equal employment opportunity, (2) monitors
compliance through evaluations, and (3) investigates complaints
filed by individuals alleging discrimination.
The OFCCP rule
became effective February 6, 2006. However, under OFCCP's
enforcement discretion, for a period of 90 days following this
effective date, OFCCP will not cite a contractor for purely
technical recordkeeping violations for failure to comply. The grace
period holds provided that the contractor (1) demonstrates they are
taking reasonable steps to update their system to comply with the
rule, and (2) collects and maintain records according to the
established procedures consistent with OFCCP's recordkeeping
requirements that preexisted to the Internet Applicant final rule.
