On September 19, 2018, the Department of Labor's Office of
Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued a new
directive, 2018-09, announcing a plan to implement an
Ombud Service in the national office to resolve certain types of
concerns contractors face.
The directive marks another move toward increased agency
transparency and consistency. It arises from a 2016
Government Accounting Office report, which indicated "[s]takeholders
and contractors fear that asking OFCCP for assistance would call
attention to them and possibly make them a target for future OFCCP
enforcement actions, such as compliance evaluations."
Though OFCCP asserts that it has assured the contractor community
that there are no ramifications for contacting OFCCP to ask
questions, the need for a neutral ombudsperson was further
expressed during compliance assistance town hall meetings conducted
in 2017, and in stakeholder meetings in January 2018.
