Workplace Violence: How HR Professionals Can Prepare and Respond

Recent events underscore the rising number of active shooter incidents in the U.S. The Washington Post reports that one in four active shooter events occurs at a workplace. And according to the Bureau of Labor, acts of violence are the third-leading cause of fatal occupational injuries.  What can employers do to protect employees and clients…
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What Federal Contractors Need to Know About Employee Background Checks

Many businesses are surprised to hear that conducting criminal background checks on applicants can put you in the crosshairs of anti-discrimination enforcers, like the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), which ensures that federal contractors abide by equal employment and other rules. After all, the need to conduct background checks on prospective employees is…
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OFCCP to Require AAP Reporting: What Federal Contractors Need to Know

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently indicated that it will soon launch a secure web-based interface designed to facilitate the communication of Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) data between Federal Contractors and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).  As a result, Federal contractors can soon expect to be required to regularly report on their…
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The Cost of Discrimination In Employment

On February 26, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released a breakdown of the 67,448 charges of workplace discrimination the agency received in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. According to the report, the agency secured $439.2 million for victims of discrimination in the private sector, state, and local government workplaces. These payments were secured through both…
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Federal Contractors and Their Employees Pay the Price for Lack of OFCCP Compliance Officer Training

For over four years we’ve been anxiously following the progress made (or rather lack of) by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) in response to a 2016 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. Why do we care about what the GAO says about OFCCP?  For one, as the “congressional watchdog” responsible for providing objective…
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