The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has placed a number of policy initiatives on hold, partly because of the pending national elections, according to speakers at the National Employment Law Institute's Thirtieth Annual Affirmative Action Briefing in Chicago, Illinois. However, the agency is moving forward with a “very thoughtful and very integrated long range plan” for conducting audits, and federal contractors are concerned about some of the planned changes, including the publicizing of all corporate scheduling announcement letters on the OFCCP’s website. Contractors are concerned about this change because they fear harassment from community service groups and unions once all audit notices are publicly posted. This week’s Feature from CCH Daily Document Update provides a primer from the conference on the scope of OFCCP’s investigative authority.

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In its recently released strategic plan, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity makes it clear that it intends to target systemic recruitment and hiring practices that are intentionally biased or have an unintentional adverse impact on minorities, women and people with disabilities. The agency has also elevated to the status of "national priorities" issues concerning the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act; application of Title VII antidiscrimination provisions to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals, and workplace accommodations for pregnancy. This week’s Feature from CCH Daily Document Update provides an overview of the EEOC’s future enforcement goals so that employers can start auditing their internal practices.

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The increased emphasis on inspections of employers' I-9 documents, part of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement revised worksite enforcement strategy launched in 2009, means that the chances of an ICE audit is more likely for a business. This week’s Feature from CCH HR Compliance Library offers a list of best practices recommended by the Dept. of Justice for employers to follow during worksite ICE enforcement audits.

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The Department of Defense has published its final rule addressing protections for federal contractor employees who disclose information to government officials regarding waste, mismanagement, danger to public health or safety, Read more

The Internal Revenue Service will be auditing the employment taxes paid by 5,000 randomly selected for-profit and non-profit employers beginning in November, a Littler Mendelson attorney recently warned. Read more

The U.S. Dept. of Labor reportedly will eliminate the Employment Standards Administration effective November 8, 2009.

According to CCH, the reorganization abolishes the ESA organization and name, but will maintain the four component programs of ESA: the U.S. Read more

Senior executives and corporate directors want to know the extent to which companies have benefited from implementing effective ethics and compliance programs, but such information is in short supply, according to a recent report by The Conference Board.

In late 2007, The Conference Board surveyed the mem Read more

Construction, supply, and service contractors receiving federal monies under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be subject to compliance audits, including affirmative action programs, according to plans submitted by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. Read more

The U.S. Dept. of Labor’s $104.5 billion budget request for 2010 includes a plan to hire 997 new employees, including about 670 investigators. Read more

The Dept. Read more

The Internal Revenue Service has released its 2009 “dirty dozen” list of tax scams, including schemes involving disguised corporate ownership, phony wages, and abuses in retirement plan arrangements, including Roth Individual Retirement Arrangements.

According to the IRS, some taxpayers form corporations and other entit Read more

Businesses in the City and County of Honolulu affected by the recent storms and flooding in December may qualify for a delay in filing their federal taxes, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
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The new Compliance Manual on Religious Discrimination provides guidance and instructions for Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigations and analysis of charges alleging discrimination based on religion. The information in its previous compliance manual on religious discrimination is rendered obsolete.
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The Dept. of Homeland Security and the Dept. of Justice have issued final rules increasing the civil monetary penalties for employers who violate federal immigration law in hiring, recruiting, referring or employing workers; and for paperwork violations. Read more

In FY 2007, the U.S. Dept. Read more