For some federal contractors, identifying whom to include/exclude from their Affirmative Action Plans (AAPs) becomes a bit of a challenge. The common question is: “Who are my true employees?” It goes without saying that making this decision can have a direct impact on the results of the analyses and, in turn, have a direct impact on the corrective steps an organization takes.
In an effort to help contractors address this grey area, the OFCCP added new FAQs on their website to provide better guidance on how federal contractors should assess their employer-employee relationships. The new FAQ intends to help differentiate “employees” from “independent contractors” and/or other non-employee workers by using the Darden factors (derived from the 1992 Supreme Court decision in Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. v. Darden). The OFCCP goes on to explain what the Darden factors are, how a federal contractor should apply these factors to determine their employer-employee relationship, and provides good examples of the Darden analysis.
View the Employer-Employee Relationship FAQs: