OFCCP Grants Extension Of Time For Contractors To Object To The Release Of EEO-1 Reports Requested Under The Freedom Of Information Act
By Godson Umejiego, Senior Correspondent, USA
The August 19, 2022, Federal Register notice provided a deadline of September 19, 2022, for contractors to submit written objections to disclosure of the requested Type 2 EEO-1 Report data. 87 FR 51145. OFCCP is extending this deadline to October 19, 2022, to ensure that covered contractors have time to ascertain whether they are covered and submit objections.
There are multiple reasons for the extension, including the following. First, since publication of that notice, numerous contractors and contractor representatives have contacted the agency requesting an extension of time to submit objections. Additionally, since the publication of the original notice, some federal contractors have raised questions regarding their efforts to verify whether they are included in the universe of Covered Contractors during the requested timeframe. To address this second issue, OFCCP will also take the additional step of emailing contractors that OFCCP believes are covered by this Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, using the email address provided by contractors that have registered in OFCCP’s Contractor Portal and the email addresses provided as a contact for the EEO-1 report.
Background
In 2019, OFCCP received a FOIA request for Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Report data submitted by federal contractors and first-tier subcontractors. In June 2022, the FOIA request was amended to include all such data submitted by contractors and first-tier subcontractors from 2016 until 2020. Consistent with the US Department of Labour’s disclosure regulations at 29 CFR 70.26(j), OFCCP is providing notice to contractors covered by this FOIA request through a published Notice in the Federal Register, an e-mail to all federal contractors for whom OFCCP has contact information, and this website.
The Federal Register Notice provides specific instructions and a list of questions that should be addressed by those contractors who wish to object to the disclosure of their Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Report data. To facilitate contractors’ written objections and the agency’s assessment of them, OFCCP has created the Submitter Notice Response Portal, to collect relevant information from contractors and their representatives that wish to object to the release of the requested data.
Use of Response Data Collected
The responses collected from this web form will be evaluated to determine whether the requested information includes confidential trade secret, commercial, or financial information that should be withheld pursuant to FOIA Exemption 4.
