Are you a federal employer who does background checks on your employees before hiring or promotion? Did you know that these checks must comply with federal law? The federal law protects employees against discrimination during hiring, promotion, retention, and reassignment. Employers have the right to inquire and do background checks on their employees. However, when you use these checks to make employment decisions, you are violating federal law.

What is an Affirmative Action Plan (AAP)

This is a tool or program that protects employees and applicants against discrimination in the workplace. These programs should contain all policies and procedures that ensure all qualified employees or recruits have equal promotions or hiring opportunities. Most employers use background checks to discriminate based on gender, race, color, religion, disability, and age. Mostly, veterans, women, people with disabilities, and minorities fall victim to such discrimination, even if they have enough skills to handle a task correctly.

The United States federal government requires its contractors who meet specific requirements to file and write AAP. These requirements demand that you have at least more than 50 employees. You must also be contracting with the federal government a contract worth more than $50,000. If you have a pending loan from the government or have an insurance package, you must also adhere to AAP.

Managing federal contractor affirmative action programs

Employers need to stay abreast of their EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) duties. They must ensure they come up with AAPs if they are working with the United States government. Failure to abide by the EEO duties will lead to being punished by the OFCCP (Office of Federal Contract  Compliance Program).

The OFCCP ensures organizations keep up with the Affirmative Action Compliance. It does this by randomly selecting a company for an audit. Employers must always be ready with the appropriate data to pass the audit. You should ensure that the work environment is free from any form of harassment. Your employees should also know their contractual obligations, and minority personnel must be given extra attention.

Employers establish and keep records of employment sources. In case you need to hire, you must keep the records of invitations and responses from the minorities.

Keeping all your employees’ records, including the address and phone numbers, is essential in AAP. In case the employees were referred by a union, you must also keep a record detailing your response. Were they hired or not? Suppose your minority employee requires some training to cope with the working environment effectively. In that case, employers should provide such services and also keep the records.

Checking and updating your AAP once set up is essential. Employers may receive monetary fines or contract termination. In some cases, the organization will receive a letter for conciliation. During conciliation, an employer can amend its violations. If the conciliation procedure ends without corrections, then the OFCCP may terminate your contract with the federal government. A ban may also be imposed on your organization. Managing an Affirmative Action Plans is very easy if you meet the government’s requirements. All that entails is following the OFCCP rule of employment data.