In the fall of 2009, the OFCCP issued three Notices of Proposed Rulemaking. The Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination Obligations of Contractors and Subcontractors; Evaluation of Recruitment and Placement Results Under the VEVRAA of 1974, as amended would implement the nondiscrimination and affirmative actions of VEVRAA and is scheduled to be effective in December 2010. To read the proposed VEVRAA rulemaking, please click here. The Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination Obligations of Contractors and Subcontractors: Evaluation of Recruitment and Placement Results under Section 503 would implement the nondiscrimination and affirmative action provisions of Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. It is scheduled to be effective in December 2010. To read the proposed Section 503 rulemaking, please click here.  The Constructor Contractor Affirmative Requirements would revise the regulations in 41 CFR § 60-4, making the affirmative action requirements of E.O. 11246 applicable to Federal and federally assisted construction contractors. This requirement is scheduled to be effective in January 2011. To read the proposed construction rulemaking, please click here.

On February 4, the Senate voted to confirm the nomination of Patricia Smith to be Solicitor of Labor. President Obama had announced Smith’s nomination to the Department of Labor in April 2009. Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) argued against her confirmation saying that Smith, the commissioner of the New York State Labor Department, misled the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (“Committee”) during her May 2009 confirmation hearing when she presented at least four “significant inconsistencies” about a wage and hour program she developed in New York. Committee Chairman Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) stated that Smith did not intentionally mislead the committee. The vote (60-37) fell along party lines, with two independents joining Democrats. Also on February 4, in another party-line vote (13-10), the Committee approved the nomination of Craig Becker to be a member of the National Labor Relations Board. The Senate had sent this nomination back to the White House at the end of the 2009 session, which required the President to denominate him in January. Senator McCain has called Becker the “most controversial nominee I've seen in a long time” and has vowed to “do anything I can to block his nomination.” McCain cited Becker's published academic papers and noted the opposition to his nomination by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the Wall Street Journal editorial board. The NLRB has been operating with just two members since the start of 2008 and has been fighting legal challenges to the authority of the two-member board to issue rulings. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed in November 2009 to address the issue. Additionally, in a unanimous voice vote, the Committee approved the nomination of Cynthia Attwood to be a member of the three member Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (“OSHRC”). President Obama had nominated Attwood in November. She has extensive Department of Labor experience, including her tenure as associate solicitor for occupational safety and health. Upon full Senate approval, the OSHRC will have three members for the first time in three years. Attwood’s term would continue through 2013.