Of the 223 total issues identified to the Ombuds Service, communication and transparency account for at least 24%
OFCCP released the 2020 Ombuds Service Annual Report which provides an overview of the work handled by the Ombuds Service during fiscal year 2020.
The report provides a message from the Ombudsman, Marcus Stergio and an executive summary with proposed recommendations based on quantitative and qualitative data and actual experiences of the Ombudsman. The recommendations include training, outreach, contractor representatives, worker advocacy groups and general agency procedures.
During the past fiscal year, 274 individuals have taken part in ombuds referrals and 64% of the services provided by the program were individual consultations. Forty-two presentations and trainings were delivered by the Ombudsman during the fiscal year.
The report outlines the program’s standards of practice, including: (1) confidentiality, (2) neutrality, (3) independence, and (4) informality. It also identifies the common practices of the service once a referral is received.
The following charts show some of the FY 2020 results.
Chart 1 – Referrals by Quarter
|
Quarter Received |
Total Received |
Open |
Closed |
|
Quarter 1 (10/1/2019 – 12/31/2019) |
9 |
0 |
9 |
|
Quarter 2 (1/1/2020 – 3/31/2020) |
13 |
0 |
13 |
|
Quarter 3 (4/1/2020 – 6/30/2020) |
55 |
1 |
54 |
|
Quarter 4 (7/1/2020 – 9/30/2020) |
51 |
8 |
43 |
|
Total |
128 |
9 |
119 |
Chart 2 – Primary Issue Type
|
Primary Issues Raised |
Frequency |
|
Transparency |
3 |
|
Extension requests |
5 |
|
Scope of review |
6 |
|
Length of investigation |
12 |
|
Jurisdiction disputes |
10 |
|
Negotiation impasse |
14 |
|
Disputed determination |
7 |
|
Communication |
12 |
|
Conduct/Personnel |
11 |
|
Policy and/or procedural concerns |
6 |
|
Other |
42 |
|
Total |
128 |
The trend analysis shows that there were 128 primary issues identified and the following secondary issues were raised when the first issues was not resolved.
Chart 3 - Secondary Issue Type
|
Secondary Issues Raised |
Frequency |
|
Communication |
30 |
|
Transparency |
12 |
|
Consistency across offices |
24 |
|
Reasonable timelines |
14 |
|
Bias |
15 |
|
Total |
95 |
To read more results and program information, go to the annual report.