The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued a revised memorandum of understanding (MOU) in November 2011, outlining the two agencies’ enforcement coordination efforts.

The MOU, which was last issued in 1999, was most recently revised to “promote greater efficiency and coordination, and to eliminate conflict and duplication of effort,” outlines just how EEOC and OFCCP will handle discrimination complaints or charges when one or both agencies have jurisdiction.

Sharing Information
Notably, the agencies reached a new understanding on how information should be shared between OFCCP and EEOC.

The MOU makes it clear that they will “share any information relating to the employment policies and/or practices of employers holding government contracts or subcontracts that supports the enforcement mandates of each agency as well as their joint enforcement efforts.”

The type of information to be shared will include affirmative action programs, annual employment reports, complaints, charges, investigative files, and compliance evaluation reports and files.

Under the MOU, OFCCP agrees to share documents with EEOC that relate to the enforcement or administration of any laws enforced by EEOC. These laws include Title VII, the Equal Pay Act (EPA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and EO 12067.

EEOC agrees to make available to OFCCP documents relating to the enforcement and administration of EO 11246, the affirmative action provisions of the VEVRA, Section
503 of the Rehabilitation Act, and EO 12067.

Filing Charges
The MOU further clarifies that when a discrimination claim comes under both agencies’ jurisdiction, OFCCP will act as EEOC’s agent “for the purposes of receiving the Title VII component of all complaints/charges.” As a result, all complaints of employment discrimination filed with OFCCP that implicate Title VII will be considered filed with both EEOC and OFCCP under Title VII.

EEOC filing date will be the date the complaint was filed with OFCCP for statute of limitations purposes. This will also be true for complaints that are first filed with OFCCP but then transferred to EEOC for lack of jurisdiction (i.e., the employer is not a federal government contractor).

If the complaint is erroneously filed with EEOC and transferred to OFCCP, the date the matter is received by EEOC will be deemed the filing date for OFCCP’s purposes.

For misfilings with the wrong agency, the statute of limitations will not be jeopardized by the filing mistake.

Finally, the introduction of the MOU emphasizes that the procedures outlined in the new MOU are limited to the exchange of information regarding discrimination complaints other than those that are disability related.

Such complaints are governed by a separate joint disability regulation issued in 1992.

Interagency Procedures
Under the terms of the MOU, OFCCP and EEOC agree they will establish procedures for notification and consultation during compliance activities and develop potential joint enforcement initiatives.

The agencies further agree to increase efficiency, ensure coordination, and minimize duplication. In order to achieve these goals, OFCCP and EEOC will establish compliance coordination committees.

Also included in the MOU are procedures for the receipt, investigation, processing, and resolution of complaints filed with OFCCP.

Bottom Line
The net effect on contractors will not be immediately apparent. However, if interagency coordination is improved, the potential impact may be that discrimination claimants will benefit from the free exchange of agency information, and the claims themselves will be less likely to fail because of filing deadlines.

Note: If you would like to see a copy of the MOU, go to www.eeoc.gov.