As outlined in our prior client alert, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (the “OFCCP”) published a Notice in the Federal Register to federal contractors of a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request for disclosure of Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Report data submitted by all federal contractors and first-tier subcontractors from 2016 until 2020. The OFCCP informed covered contractors that these reports would be produced to the FOIA requester unless the contractor submitted an objection to the disclosure by September 19, 2022. With that deadline fast approaching, many contractors have been rushing to examine their EEO-1 reports to assess whether they should submit an objection, have raised questions with the OFCCP to better understand whether their EEO-1 reports are covered by the FOIA request, and have raised the prospect of an extension of the September 19 deadline. As a result, OFCCP has just announced that (1) the Agency is extending the deadline for objections to October 19, 2022, and (2) that the Agency will be emailing all contractors that OFCCP believes are covered by this 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.”
This additional time and communication is welcome news for the contracting community. Crowell & Moring LLP is available to assist federal contractors with questions regarding submission of objections prior to the new October 19, 2022 deadline.