Complying with New OFCCP Regulations

Introduction

The internet has made applying for jobs easier than ever. As a result, both the pace and the scale of job applications have steadily increased for companies, large and small. Without question, this has been good for job seekers and employers.

Increased applicant volume has been a double-edged sword for employers, though, because it has had the unintended effect of increasing the number of unqualified applicants. Since employers are still required to comply with the EEO reporting and recordkeeping requirements, internet applicants have added significantly to administrative overhead encountered in recruiting.

Recently, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) promulgated new regulations that recognized the new reality of job applications. While these regulations have rationalized what constitutes an applicant, they have nonetheless created other reporting requirements that pose their own challenges. This paper briefly discusses how InqHire’s services help you meet these challenges.

OFCCP Internet Applicant Definitions

The OFCCP issued new regulations effective February 6, 2006 to deal with internet applicants. These regulations, which apply generally to companies with more than 15 employees, provide a refined definition of what constitutes a job applicant.

Under these new regulations, an internet applicant is defined as an individual who satisfies the following four criteria:

The individual submits an expression of interest in employment through the internet or related electronic data technologies;
The contractor considers the individual for employment in a particular position;
The individual's expression of interest indicates the individual possesses the basic qualifications for the position; and,
The individual at no point in the contractor's selection process prior to receiving an offer of employment from the contractor, removes himself or herself from further consideration or otherwise indicates that he or she is no longer interested in the position.

Complying with the Regulations

While the rules simplify what constitutes an applicant, these regulations do establish stringent recordkeeping requirements. In particular, employers are now required not only to retain resumes gathered from applicants, but also the search criteria used to mine external data sources and all interview notes created during the evaluation process.

Meeting these requirements may prove burdensome unless you use tools that to deal with them. CASE and The Exchange do just that. In fact, they make you OFCCP compliant automatically – there is nothing special you need to do.

Briefly, here are the things that these services do for you automatically.

Employ standard screening questions for all applicants, regardless of EEO status. OFCCP permits applicant screening so long as the screens are consistent and do not discriminate.
Track every Exchange member invited to apply for one of your positions.
Track each piece of information submitted by each internet applicant, including responses to questions, employment history, education, and resumes.
Define and store the search criteria used to invite Exchange members.
All notes recorded by recruiters, managers, and interviewers, all time- and date-stamped.

Further Information

Important Notice

The preceding discussion is not intended as definitive or complete with respect to OFCCP regulations. You should consult the Department of Labor website at www.dol.gov/esl for details.