Portrait of a San Francisco construction worker: Not Black, Not a Woman, Not a City Resident

Portrait of a San Francisco construction worker

11.11.10 - 2:22 pm | Sarah Phelan

Protesting unemployment

Sarah Phelan

The nation has a black president and a female Secretary of State. But only three percent of San Francisco's construction workforce are black or female.

One of the many fascinating pieces of data to emerge in the discussion about Sup. John Avalos’ proposal to mandate local hiring is a recently published analysis of the characteristics of construction workers whose primary workplace is San Francisco.

In October, L. Luster & Associates published a labor market analysis, using data from EDD payrolls and the U.S. Census American Community Survey, that shows there were 14,629 construction workers employed in San Francisco in June 2010. And that five trades currently dominate this workforce and constitute more than 75 percent of the total numbers of construction workers employed in the city.

Carpenters are the biggest group (4,623 workers) followed by construction laborers (2,796 workers) painters (1,459 workers), electricians (1,119 workers) and plumbers, pipe fitters and steamfitters (1,023 workers).

But while this population shows racial diversity (whites and Latinos each make up about 40 percent of the workforce, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders at 17 percent) African Americans and women each account for only 3 percent of this market. In other words, only 440 African Americans and 405 women were construction workers in June 2010, compared to 5,830 Latinos, 5673 whites, 2,528 Asians and Pacific Islanders.

So, how do these ethnic percentages compare with San Francisco’s overall distribution?
“Latinos make up a considerably larger portion of workforce than they do the overall population (40 percent of construction workforce v. 13 percent of city’s population),” the Luster report states. “ All other major racial categories constitute a smaller portion of the construction workforce than they do of the total population: Whites (39 percent of construction workforce compared to 49 percent of city population overall) followed by Asian and Pacific Islanders (17 percent compared to 28 percent overall) and African Americans (3 percent compared to 6 percent overall.)

(That last statistic should be a shocker: What?! Only six percent of San Francisco's current residents are African American?! But the city produced a report two years that detailed the "black out migration” –but provided little money or authority to help follow through on the report’s various recommendations).

Meanwhile, Luster’s report concludes that, “the main imbalance between the employed construction workforce and the San Francisco population lies with the gender distribution. Women comprise only 3 percent of the 14,629 construction workers in San Francisco, whereas they account for nearly half of the overall population.”

Next up in the Luster report was the question of residency. And according to its findings, only 39 percent of workers employed in San Francisco’s construction industry call the city and county of San Francisco their home.

San Mateo County is home to 18 percent of this workforce, Alameda County accounts for another 17 percent, Contra Costa County is home to 13 percent, Sonoma and Marin each are home to 8 percent, and Napa and Solano County each account for a further 5 percent.

These numbers are significant in a number of ways. For instance, 2, 636 workers commute in from San Mateo, 2,418 from Alameda, 1,929 from Contra Costa, 1,197 from Sonoma and Marin, and 773 workers from Napa and Solano, all of which adds up to wear and tear on roads, impacts on air quality, and increased levels of greenhouse gas generation (depending on whether these workers take public transit, car pool or drive the freeways solo, of course).

It also means that when communities oppose aspects of a local construction project—be it a proposed bridge over Yosemite Slough, or a proposed mega-hospital on Cathedral Hill—they are likely to encounter opposition from a workforce that increasingly lives outside San Francisco, faces a 40 percent unemployment rate, and can be mobilized to show support for these projects, either through showing up physically at meetings or through union dues that can be used to wage political wars with far-reaching percussions for the ability of local residents to influence local land use and economic development decisions.

So, why do so many construction workers live outside San Francisco? The obvious reasons are their relatively low income levels and their related inability to afford housing in the city.

According to Luster’s report, “nearly 33 percent of these workers report earnings of less than $30,000 per year” (based on data that incorporates union and non-union workers, and part-time workers).

Another way of looking at this is to study Luster’s analysis of construction workers who currently live in San Francisco.

“From EDD payroll data and from historic employment relationships between San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin counties, we estimate there were 7,855 construction workers residing in San Francisco and who were employed as of June 2010—roughly 1 percent of total residents in the city,” Luster reports.

The Luster report also notes that the same five trades make up an even higher proportion of the resident employed construction workforce than they did the total employed construction workforce in the city (86 percent v 75 percent). But now the top two places are reversed: Construction Laborers is the largest trade with 2,442 workers, followed by Carpenters (1,914 workers), Painters (1,122 workers), Electricians (814 workers) and Plumbers (484 workers).

The ethnic distribution of these resident workers is also diverse. Whites (34 percent,) Latinos (31 percent), Asians and Pacific Islanders (30 percent, which is considerably higher than for the overall workforce employed in San Francisco) and African Americans (5 percent).

But women, once again, make up only 3 percent of residents in construction employment.

The Luster report takes the analysis one step further by looking at age distribution. This criterion reveals that the white resident construction workforce is aging, as is the Asian resident construction workforce, though to a lesser extent.

“By contract, the Latino workforce is concentrated among the younger age groups, particularly among the 25-34 age group,” Luster notes. “Of note, 47 percent of the resident San Francisco construction workforce is over the age of 45. Moreover, 23 percent is already 55 years and older. Currently, the number of workers aged 55-64 is 1,544 and declines to 264 for workers aged 65 and older, dropping from 20 percent of the workforce to 3 percent. If construction workers continue to leave the sector in the same proportions by the time they reach 64, a sizeable number of new openings will be created.”

The report, which goes into detailed breakdowns of apprentices (each of the four largest ethnic groups have almost equal shares, and women have 10 percent), the construction trades (which has a greater participation of white workers) and journey people, also gets into workforce projections (the bulk of the jobs generated by the city’s Capital Plan will be generated within the first five years) local hire programs and policy issues. As such, it’s a must-read for those following Avalos’ proposed local hire legislation, and you can view the full report by clicking here.

http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2010/11/11/portrait-san-francisco-construction-worker

How much of this public money is going to put women and people of color to work? -MnDOT

Making MnDOT hire more women, people of color

BY LAWRENCE SCHUMACHER, TC DAILY PLANET

April 15, 2010

Earlier this month, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced asummer road construction season containing 283 projects worth $1.3 billion in state funding.

So, how much of that public money is going to put people to work who are women or from communities of color?

According to MnDOT, the state transportation agency was not able last year to meet even its own modest goal of making sure 8.75 percent of its contracts went to people who weren't white males.

Instead, it ended up sharing that public funding with contractors whose workforce contained only 6.59 percent nonwhite employees.

Enter SF 2585 from Sen. Linda Higgins, DFL-Minneapolis, and HF 3099 from Rep. Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis.

In their original form, these bills would have required the Transportation Commissioner to include in every bid contract a goal for hiring contractors and workers who meet federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise definitions, and require contract bidders to note on their bids what percentage of their workforce comes from that pool of talent.

If they don't meet the goal, or can't show why they deserve a waiver, MnDOT wouldn't be able to give them the contract. Even if they receive a waiver, a contractor who gets the contract but doesn't meet the goal would be penalized financially.

"We are committed to getting MnDOT to attain their goals of hiring construction companies owned by women and people of color," Higgins said at a recent hearing on the bill. "Some contractors have exceeded those goals. Others can't manage to get their workforces to look like the people of this state."

However, in these tight budget times, the bill would have potentially cost more tax dollars to enforce. So in a Senate Finance Committee hearing this week, Higgins agreed to water down the bill to let a collaborative of volunteers working with MnDOT to improve its hiring of minority and women contractors and employees figure it out and report back to the Legislature next year.

The modified bill is headed for a floor vote in the Senate. An undiluted House bill has yet to come before the House Finance Committee for approval.

Lawrence Schumacher

Lawrence Schumacher (lawrence@tcdailyplanet.net) is a freelance journalist with 12+ years covering Minnesota communities, government, politics and elections.

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2010/04/15/making-mndot-hire-more-women-people-color

Portland achieves outstanding results for diversity in contracting

Portland Development Commission Produces Amazing Diversity Contracting Numbers

• The Portland Development Commission has been able to exceed 35% diversity in contracting in a city that is reported to be the whitest in the United States.
• Bold adoption of aggressive requirements followed by structural changes and internal oversight made the difference.
• This is a national model for increasing workforce diversity.

(PORTLAND, OR), January 28, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — In tough economic times and in a city with a small minority population the PDC, Portland’s urban renewal and economic development agency, has achieved outstanding results.

• PDC has, in each of the last two years, exceeded heightened goals for utilization of minority, women-owned and emerging small businesses (M/W/ESB) by at least 15 percent annually, achieving more than 35 percent of the dollars committed to state-certified firms.
• For 2008-09, PDC spent $94 million on construction projects. $35 million of that went to M/W/ESB firms. Another $36 million is committed to additional PDC supervised projects for a total of more than $70 million to M/W/ESB firms.
• Apprentices worked nearly 250,000 of the total hours in the past fiscal year – or three percent above the 20% PDC goal for apprentices.

“For PDC to be willing to take this on, to commit to making a difference here, says that part of economic development is economic development for everybody. That’s leadership”, says Connie Ashbrook, founder of Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc.

Three years ago the PDC took bold steps by revising the decade-old policies governing business and workforce equity and adopting significant changes, which included:

• The adoption of the PDC Construction Wage Policy
• Revision of the PDC Business and Workforce Equity Policies

Community outreach included:

• Convening a community-based Workforce Diversity Advisory Committee, resulting in new workforce diversity goals for construction projects and new contractor requirements.
• Closer working relationships with the National Association of Minority Contractors-Oregon, the minority chambers of commerce and organizations that build contractor capacity.
• A renewed partnership with organized labor that changed the state prevailing wage statutes on public-private partnerships.
• Supporting pre-apprenticeship programs.

The PDC is not resting on its past accomplishments – for example, next up will be the adoption of a Prompt Payment Requirement to make it easier for small contractors to get paid promptly for completed work.

Find out how we did it at www.pdc.us/diversity

Portland Development Commission:

Shawn Uhlman

Tel: 503-823-7994

Email: uhlmans@pdc.us

Anne Mangan

Tel: 503-823-2594

Email: mangana@pdc.us
http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/pdc/42154/

Minnesota Stadiums’ construction meets minority and female workforce participation goals

Stadiums’ construction workforces mostly White — but less so than usual

BY CHARLES HALLMAN, MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN-RECORDER

January 13, 2010

The University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Twins and others have been aggressively promoting the "workforce diversity" achieved in the construction of both the Gophers' football stadium, which opened last fall, and the Twins' stadium, which is expected to open in March this year. Both stadium projects together involved hundreds of millions of dollars in construction costs, much of it public funds.

M.A. Mortenson Construction was the general contractor for both stadiums and claimed in November that they exceeded their workforce diversity goals in building the two stadiums. They stated that 41-percent minority and female workforce participation was achieved on the U of M stadium project, exceeding the 31-percent goal.

They also stated that approximately 32-percent minority and female workforce participation has been achieved on the Twins ballpark project as of October 2009, exceeding a 30-percent goal.

When asked how many Blacks worked on both projects, Mortenson spokeswoman Lynn Littlejohn said that the construction industry standard, along with federal guidelines, mandates that workforce goals are shown in percentages rather than in the actual number of workers. Furthermore, "Goals are expressed in work hours, which is a truer representation of the diversity of the workforce, as opposed to saying the number of bodies on the site," Littlejohn explained.

However, these percentages provided for the general category "minority" did not enable the MSR to determine the level of participation by African American workers and businesses. We insisted on and later received from Mortenson a specific ethnicity breakdown of work hours on both projects:
• Gophers' stadium - Mortenson reports 1.2 million total workforce hours; 183,025 total minority hours. Ethnicity breakdown: 37 percent Black (67,719 hours); 27 percent Hispanic (49,417 hours); 27 percent Native American (49,417 hours); and nine percent Asian (16,472 hours).
• Twins' stadium (through October 2009) - Mortenson reports 1.9 million total workforce hours; 503,000 total minority hours. Ethnicity breakdown: 37 percent Black (186,110 hours); 27 percent Hispanic (135,810 hours); 27 percent Native American (135,810 hours) and nine percent Asian (45,270 hours).
However, these percentages show only the proportion of each ethnic group's participation within the "minority hours" subcategory rather than as a proportion of the "total workforce hours." Our calculations of the proportion of each group's work as a percentage of the whole, including White workers, showed quite different levels of participation:
• Gophers' stadium: 1.2 million total workforce hours; 183,025 total minority hours (15 percent of total). Ethnicity breakdown: Black (67,719 hours - 5.6 percent of total); Hispanic (49,417 hours - 4.1 percent of total); Native American (49,417 hours - 4.1 percent of total); and Asian (16,472 hours - 1.4 percent of total).
• Twins' stadium (through October 2009): 1.9 million total workforce hours; 503,000 total minority hours (26.5 percent of total). Ethnicity breakdown: Black (186,110 hours - 9.8 percent of total); Hispanic (135,810 hours - 7.2 percent of total); Native American (135,810 hours - 7.2 percent of total) and Asian (45,270 hours - 2.4 percent).

This analysis shows, then, that 85 percent of the work building the new Gophers' stadium and 73.5 percent of the work building the new Twins' stadium has been done by White workers. Black workers did 5.6 percent of the work on the Gophers' stadium and have done 9.8 percent of the work on the Twins' stadium thus far, based on Mortenson's numbers.

Our analysis raised additional questions about the percentages and work hours provided by Mortenson. It seems unlikely that all four groups would have contributed exactly the same labor proportionately on two separate projects: percentages of 37/27/27/9 were given for Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans and Asians respectively on both stadiums.

It seems even more unlikely that on both projects Hispanics and Native Americans contributed exactly the same number of work hours - 135,810 each for the Twins' stadium and 49,417 each for the Gophers' stadium. We received the following explanation of these oddities from Mortenson Marketing Manager Lynette Todd:

"We tracked minority hours by ethnicity for Target Field [the Twins' stadium] due to the public meetings held on a monthly basis throughout construction. Since the scopes of work between the two projects were similar in many cases, we estimated the same percentages for TCF Bank Stadium [the Gophers' stadium]. That is the explanation for the similarity in numbers for between the two projects. Again, because it is not standard industry practice to track minority hours by ethnicity it is difficult to provide the exact numbers you are searching for."

In other words, minority participation in the Gophers' stadium project was not tracked by specific ethnic groups, so Mortenson guessed at those numbers based on participation in the Twins' stadium project.

Also last November, Mortenson recognized 24 subcontractors who helped the company in meeting and exceeding workforce diversity goals on the two stadium projects. Contract sizes reportedly ranged from $2,000 to $5 million on the Gophers site, and $99 million in subcontracted work was awarded through October on the Twins stadium site.

"We were looking at firms who worked a significant amount of hours, who would impact the participation," said Littlejohn, adding that with the exception of four, all the firms were White-owned. "We established small, minority- and women-owned goals for each bid package that we put out, and that was part of the evaluation and selection criteria."

Asked to identify the ethnicity of the four non-White subcontractors, Littlejohn would only repeat that they are "minority-owned." The MSR has been able to identify only one as a Native American-owned firm.

Todd later informed us that "Mortenson has researched several lists published online through the State of Minnesota for small women-and minority-owned firms. In most cases, we could not pinpoint the firm's ethnicity since the primary focus of the lists is to identify businesses by small, women- or minority-owned status. We would not be able to provide accurate statistics through these lists."

Again, we were concerned that this lack of specificity beyond the general category "minority" would not enable the MSR to determine the level of participation, if any, by African American contractors. We took our concerns to two of Minnesota's highest ranking Black elected officials. Both expressed dissatisfaction over our inability to obtain accurate, ethnic-specific involvement on the two stadium projects.

"I don't why it is so hard to find that information," said State Rep. Bobby Champion. "They [Mortenson] know who it is, [whether] woman, Black, or [other] person of color. I don't know why it appears to be that difficult. It is something that I will take a look at and see if they are not complying...and how we can make sure that information is more readily available."

"I find it somewhat troubling that for a publicly funded, publicly financed stadium we have a lack of transparency on whom and where state taxpayer dollars went to," said State Rep. Jeff Hayden. "This is troubling to me and it is something I would be willing to look at and investigate."

Mortenson should be applauded if diversity hiring goals are met, Champion believes. "If firms are doing their goals and exceeding them, we want them to be applauded. We want to make sure that they are intentionally making sure that the quality of lives of people of color and women are being improved by their ability to get out and work on these publicly funded projects."

Finally, the state legislator pledges, "We need to intentionally make sure that there is inclusion. There are people of color and women who are able to do the work, and that work ought to be utilized both on public and privately funded projects."

Summit Academy OIC Executive Director Louis King said that he was involved with Mortenson in setting diversity hiring goals. "It wasn't pretty when we first got started," he recalled. Yet, he applauded the company "for the reports that they developed to support [workforce diversity].

"The biggest thing they did, and what we are trying to get adopted as an industry standard, is take the project [and divide it] by phase, subcontractor, trade, and project out what the minority hiring needs would be."

Mortenson and King's school have worked together to place his students on construction sites after their training is completed, he said. Over 70 percent of Summit Academy students are Black. "They complied," King said of Mortenson's workforce diversity claims.

King added that the community must be more involved in large-scale construction projects from start to finish. "We can't just have the planners get in the room and not give any thought on who gets the money. It is our responsibility as a community to understand the industry standard and identify, recruit, train and provide people who can meet those standards."

Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@spokesman-re corder.com.

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2010/01/13/stadiums’-construction-workforces-mostly-white-—-less-so-usual

More opportunities ahead for minority/women owned businesses? -INDIANA

LEGISLATION REQUIRES STATE GRANT RECIPIENTS TO MEET HIRING GOALS

By Dan Carden - dan.carden@nwi.com, (317) 637-9078 | Posted: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 12:00 am

INDIANAPOLIS | Any construction project or purchase made by a state grant recipient would have to meet minority and female hiring goals under legislation approved by the Indiana House.

State Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon, D-Munster, sponsored House Bill 1014, which passed the House 79-18 on Tuesday.

The measure requires the Governor's Commission on Minority and Women's Business Enterprises to set annual goals for the use of minority and female businesses. State grant recipients would have to demonstrate they've made a good-faith effort to satisfy those goals as a condition of their grant.

Candelaria Reardon said the legislation "is essential for businesses owned by minorities and women at the state and local levels to encourage their continued and future growth."

Local governments that receive state grant money are most likely to be affected by the legislation. State agency contractors already have to comply with minority and female business enterprise goals.

"If we have standards at the state level, then people using state money should have to follow those same state standards," Candelaria Reardon said.

State Rep. Phil Hinkle, R-Indianapolis, disagreed. He said the legislation would be an "unfunded mandate" on local government, forcing local governments to spend money to comply with a new law without giving them the resources they need to do it.

A report on the legislation's fiscal impact from the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency said local governments would have only minimal administrative costs if the proposal becomes law.

The legislation now heads to the state Senate for consideration by that body.

http://nwitimes.com/business/local/article_a6977499-c7d8-5620-b8d6-687186a0acfb.html

Bill would set aside stimulus funds to train women, minorities-NJ

By Andrew Kitchenman

12/31/2009

A proposed state law setting rules for how federal stimulus funds will be spent includes provisions to encourage that women and minorities receive construction work and job training.

The bill, S-3107, is up for approval by the Senate State Government Committee on Jan. 4, and sets out standards required by Gov. Jon S. Corzine in an Aug. 28 executive order that set goals for hiring minorities and women for construction contracts.

The measure requires the state Treasury Department’s Contract Compliance and Audit Unit to determine whether minorities and women “have been offered a fair opportunity for employment” on state contracts.

In addition, the state will check whether businesses receiving contracts of at least $1 million set aside 0.5 percent of the amount for construction job training for minorities and women.

The bill also requires all construction contracts receiving state funds include affirmative-action contract language, requiring contractors “to make a good faith effort to recruit and employ minorities and women.” The state could withhold funds from contractors that fail to demonstrate the effort was made.

The bill also sets out requirements for the stimulus law, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It mandates that federally funded contracts be posted on the state job bank at least 14 days before hiring starts. Notices also must be sent to the state Division of Minority and Women Business Development.

If the bill is passed, officials would have 90 days to prepare a guide identifying the management practices with the best success in attracting small and women- and minority-owned businesses to apply for state contracts

State Sens. Ronald L. Rice (D-Newark) and Richard J. Codey (D-West Orange) are the bill’s primary sponsors.

http://www.njbiz.com/article.asp?aID=80211

OFCCP Web Listening Series January 2010

On Monday, December 7, 2009, the Department of Labor issued its Semiannual Regulatory Agenda, announcing the Department’s anticipated regulatory activities and priorities for the upcoming year. Included in the Department’s Agenda are three regulatory activities from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).

OFCCP’s mission is to enforce three equal employment opportunity laws: Executive Order 11246, as amended (EO); Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (503); and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended, 38 U.S.C. 4212 (VEVRAA). These laws prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating on the bases of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and veteran status.

They also require affirmative action in employment by federal contractors and subcontractors. OFCCP accomplishes its mission by conducting compliance evaluations, investigating complaints filed, and hosting compliance assistance events for federal contractors and subcontractors.

In late 2010 and early 2011, OFCCP plans to publish a series of proposals that will seek to enhance the agency’s existing regulations and improve compliance with the laws that OFCCP enforces. To help inform the development of these proposals, OFCCP is seeking input from stakeholders.

Please join OFCCP Director Patricia A. Shiu, as she hosts a series of one-hour Web Listening Sessions that:

· Highlight OFCCP’s anticipated regulatory activities;

· Offer a critical opportunity for stakeholders to provide suggestions and recommendations to OFCCP;

· Provide information on how stakeholders can participate in the official rulemaking process.

Register for the listening session you’re interested in by clicking the applicable date below. Register early, as space is limited!

Tue, Jan 12, 2010 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST - - Affirmative Action & Nondiscrimination Obligations of Contractors and Subcontractors; Evaluation of Recruitment and Placement Results under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act. This regulation protects individuals with disabilities from employment discrimination by federal contractors and subcontractors. Projected Publication date for Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM): 12/2010

For the audio portion of this listening session, please call 800-369-1722, (outside United States call 517-308-9423). This passcode will be required to join the call: 6341500. (Restrictions may exist when using a mobile telephone.) To submit comments, suggestions, or feedback please email: OFCCP-Regulatory-Agenda-503@dol.gov

Thu, Jan 14, 2010 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST - - Affirmative Action & Nondiscrimination Obligations of Contractors and Subcontractors; Evaluation of Recruitment and Placement Results under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA). Under VEVRAA, federal contractors and subcontractors are prohibited from discrimination on the basis of veteran status. Projected Publication date for Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM): 12/2010

For the audio portion of this listening session, please call 800-369-1722, (outside United States call 517-308-9423). This passcode will be required to join the call: 6341500. (Restrictions may exist when using a mobile telephone.) To submit comments, suggestions, or feedback please email: OFCCP-Regulatory-Agenda-VEVRAA@dol.gov

Wed, Jan 20, 2010 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST - - Construction Contractor Affirmative Action Requirements. OFCCP regulations at 41 CFR Part 60-4, require Federal and federally assisted construction contractors to provide equal opportunity in all construction trades. Projected Publication date for Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM): 1/2011

For the audio portion of this listening session, please call 800-369-1722, (outside United States call 517-308-9423). This passcode will be required to join the call: 6341500. (Restrictions may exist when using a mobile telephone.) To submit comments, suggestions, or feedback please email: OFCCP-Regulatory-Agenda-EO-Construction@dol.gov

OFCCP values stakeholders’ engagement in the rulemaking process and encourages all interested parties to provide suggestions and feedback on the current regulations. Please note however, that these sessions will take place prior to the publication of any official proposals, and will not be considered regulatory comments. For this reason, OFCCP will not be making a presentation with respect to the planned content of any of the forthcoming regulatory proposals and will be unable to answer specific questions regarding the planned content. These listening sessions are intended to be just one of many steps that OFCCP will take as it begins the process of developing the proposals. OFCCP has allotted 45 minutes for suggestions and feedback and each caller that wishes to make a statement will be provided with two minutes to present until the available time is exhausted.

Visit us on the web at www.dol.gov