Masonry Magazine May 2011 Page. 51
Division of Occupational Safety and Health in the department's Office of the Solicitor.
Construction and roofing companies have until June 16 to comply with the new directive. OSHA has developed training and compliance assistance materials for small employers and will host a webinar for parties interested in learning more about complying with the standard. To view the directive and for more information, visit http://www.osha.gov/doc/residential_fall_protection.html.
White Paper on Workforce Regulations on Federal Contractors
Announcing in 2010 that it would increase enforcement efforts, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) appears to be in hot pursuit of workforce diversity compliance among federal contractors and their subs. So writes construction-industry recruiting expert and Bird
Dog VP of Marketing Doug Mitchell in a newly released white paper.
"Frankly, many contractors need a wake-up call," says Mitchell of his motivation to write the paper. "I'd much rather they get it from a white paper than a compliance officer."
According to Mitchell, industry recruiting firm BirdDog receives weekly contact from construction firms caught off guard by the workforce diversity requirements of their state and federal contracts. It was the commonality of confusion among contractors that inspired Mitchell to gather up insight from every corner of the industry and put it together in one place, easily accessible to contractors across the nation.
In addition to the team at BirdDog, Mitchell taps a federal road and bridge contractor with OFCCP audit experience, a state Department of Transportation compliance officer, and the OFCCP audit experts at consulting firm HudsonMann to round out the paper. Together, they read between the lines of agency documents to help federal contractors understand where the agency is focused, as well as the risks of failing to provide a fully documented good-faith recruitment effort.
The paper explores methods for maintaining quality documentation of all hiring, recruiting and promoting behavior inside a federal contracting firm. Among the tools described is Bird-Dog's Candidate Acquisition Management System, which assists contractors not only in their efforts to achieve compliance with affirmative action and equal opportunity employment mandates, but helps them archive that effort, as well.
"Good record-keeping is the closest thing to bulletproofing yourself," says Neil Dickinson, managing partner of Hudson Mann. "It's no longer those who discriminate that get into trouble. It's those who look like they are discriminating, simply because they don't have proof to the contrary.
The white paper, "Ten Thousand Shades of Gray-The Impact of Work-
From the publishers of MCAA'S MASONRY Magazine
MASONRY E-NEWS
A new monthly electronic newsletter, delivering industry news, practical information and ideas to support the busy masonry professional.
MASONRY E-NEWS BRINGS YOU:
* 'How To' Masonry Methods and Solutions
* Masonry Construction, Restoration and Preservation Articles
* Masonry Tools and Equipment Specs and Reviews
* Legislative and Industry Updates
Visit www.masonrymagazine.com to register.
SIGN UP TO START RECEIVING YOUR FREE MASONRY E-NEWS TODAY
www.masonrymagazine.com
May 2011 MASONRY 49