When your company meets certain criteria, it’s necessary for you to create and update an affirmative action plan to meet the guidelines of the OFCCP. This criterion includes:
- If your business works with the federal government as a contractor or subcontractor and your contracts are valued at $50,000 or more.
- If your company has 50 or more employees—including part-time and seasonal employees.
Just because you know your company meets such criteria, however, doesn’t exactly explain what an AAP is. To help you create an effective plan that satisfies the OFCCP, let’s talk about what an affirmative plan is.
Defining Affirmative Action
An affirmative action plan is a written program detailing what steps you, as a company, will be or are taking to ensure your workplace remains a fair and equitable environment for all employees. The OFCCP, in turn, is the federal agency that provides oversight and ensures every business meeting the appropriate criteria upholds its AAP obligations. Your AAP will be created based on the previous year’s employment data so that you can see where your business excels and what aspects need improvement. Your AAP will need to be updated annually, so it often helps to outsource OFCCP compliance to meet the ever-evolving guidelines.
The OFCCP Contractor Portal
Now that you have an idea of what an affirmative action plan is and if you need one, you’ll soon realize what an undertaking creating and updating an AAP is. To help streamline the process, all federal contractors and subcontractors must certify their compliance through the OFCCP contractor portal. This portal is your main reference point for all necessary materials and information to ensure your AAP complies with the OFCCP’s guidelines.
Meeting Only Half the Criteria
What if you have federal contracts exceeding $50,000 but have less than 50 employees, or vice versa? While this may mean your company is not required to complete an AAP, there are cases where federal requirements expect contractors with less than 50 employees to have an AAP if they have contracts exceeding $10,000.
