OFCCP Rescinds Active Case Enforcement Procedures

Quick Hit: Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs ("OFCCP") has issued Directive 2019-01 (the "Directive"), which rescinds Directive 2011-01 which established OFCCP's now-defunct Active Case Enforcement or "ACE" policy. Through ACE, OFCCP conducted fewer but more intensive compliance evaluations of government contractors. In issuing the Directive, OFCCP is formally ending ACE, while adopting an approach it contends keeps the better components of ACE while allowing OFCCP to conduct more compliance evaluations in a more efficient manner.

Key Takeaway: ACE has never been viewed positively by contractors, and with the new Directive OFCCP has signaled that it too is done with at least some portions of ACE. The Directive is consistent with OFCCP's recent statements about bringing a practical and efficient approach to compliance evaluations. OFCCP has long lamented that very few of all compliance evaluations end with a notice of violations. Accordingly, it is not