The OFCCP has released the first Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL) of 2024 with 500 new AAP locations or functions selected, but not yet scheduled, for audit. The full list can be found on the OFCCP’s website here.
The agency is required to select contractors for audits through an “administratively neutral” process. While it is not technically random, it does prevent the agency from targeting employers. And as the OFCCP likes to remind us, they are under no obligation to provide information regarding how contractors are selected for audit, but they do so as a courtesy and you can read all about it here.
The CSAL just lists audits that are “in the queue,” in that they can be scheduled any time, but have not yet. Recently the OFCCP began publishing a list of scheduled audits, so if you want to know whether or not they have actually sent the audit letter, you can check the list here, but it is only updated on a monthly basis.
The new list contains 500 establishments (or functions, for those who prepare functional affirmative action plans). Thirty of those are Corporate Management Compliance Evaluations (CMCEs), which is a regular audit, but with an additional focus on potential “glass ceiling” issues in upper management. Often these are referred to as a “headquarters” review, because they typically occur at the organization’s corporate headquarters.
There are also 24 functional audits on the list, along with six “university” audits. The university audit is an entirely new type of audit that you won’t find enumerated in the OFCCP’s regulations (they kind of just made it up). In a university audit, the agency still sends the audit list to a particular location but demands all AAPs covering the entire “campus.”
The OFCCP does not “sunset” entries from prior CSALs and intends to get to them all. Think of the CSAL as the OFCCP’s gas tank. When it starts to get low, they fill back up, but they eventually use every drop of gas that goes into the tank. So, if your organization has appeared on a prior CSAL but the audit hasn’t been initiated yet, don’t worry, it will be.
And if you are on this or any previous CSAL and are anticipating an audit letter, there is no time like the present to start getting things buttoned-down at the establishment or function that will come under review. The OFCCP also likes to remind us they are under no obligation to provide contractors with this “heads-up,” so we should be grateful, and prepared when the audit does kick off.
They have a point. Go and check the CSAL and see if you are on it. If you are, start preparing now for federal law enforcement scrutiny. And if you need help, feel free to reach out to us at BCGi@Biddle.com.
