• This page, DAS Did Not Perform Compliance Reviews of Apprentice Program Sponsors to Ensure That They Had Developed and Implemented Affirmative Action Programs and Met Established Hiring Goals., is   offered by
  • Office of the State Auditor

DAS Did Not Perform Compliance Reviews of Apprentice Program Sponsors to Ensure That They Had Developed and Implemented Affirmative Action Programs and Met Established Hiring Goals.

The audit found problems related to DAS oversight of development and implementation of affirmative action programs by sponsors. During the audit period, DAS only reviewed one of the 90 sponsors that had established a required affirmative action plan.

Table of Contents

Overview

DAS did not perform compliance reviews of its apprentice program sponsors’ affirmative action plans every five years as required to determine whether they had developed, and were following, their affirmative action plans. It also did not conduct equal employment opportunity (EEO) compliance reviews annually to ensure that sponsors had met the hiring goals established in their affirmative action plans. Specifically, for 89 of 90 apprentice program sponsors operating apprentice programs during our audit period that were required to develop affirmative action programs (AAPs), which require affirmative action plans, DAS had not conducted an affirmative action plan or EEO compliance review in the past five years. Without performing these compliance reviews, DAS cannot be certain that the entities it registers to operate apprentice programs are complying with EEO regulations to prevent discrimination in apprentice programs and ensure equal opportunities for apprentices throughout their apprenticeships and training.

Authoritative Guidance

According to 454 CMR 26.07(3),

[DAS] is required to evaluate performance of registered apprenticeship programs. The tools and factors to be used must include . . .

       (b)  Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Compliance Reviews.

Section 30.13(a) of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations states,

The Registration Agency [in this case, DAS] will regularly conduct EEO compliance reviews to determine if the sponsor maintains compliance with this part [of the regulation], and will also conduct EEO compliance reviews when circumstances so warrant.

DOL officials told us that they interpret “regularly” to mean at least once every five years, in line with the five-year QAA reviews required for permanent sponsors.

DAS has established a system control in its Access database that alerts the agency when a sponsor’s AAP is due for its five-year review. DAS’s practices also require it to prepare an EEO Maintenance Review Form annually to monitor each sponsor’s efforts to meet the hiring goals identified in its affirmative action plan.

Reasons for Noncompliance

DAS officials stated that because of limited staff resources, management decided to prioritize other agency activities, such as processing veterans’ benefits, over conducting affirmative action plan and EEO compliance reviews. DAS officials also stated that they had been acting for many years under an informal agreement with DOL to suspend affirmative action plan and EEO compliance reviews until DAS had adequate staffing to perform these reviews. However, DAS did not provide us with any documentation to substantiate that assertion. Moreover, any such agreement would be contrary to state regulations, which require these reviews to be conducted. In addition, DAS does not have any policies and procedures regarding conducting and monitoring these reviews.

Recommendations

  1. DAS should conduct affirmative action plan reviews every five years, and EEO compliance reviews annually, to ensure that sponsors are meeting the goals established in their affirmative action plans.
  2. DAS should assess what additional resources, if any, it needs to perform its affirmative action plan reviews and EEO compliance reviews in accordance with applicable requirements and should seek to obtain these resources.
  3. DAS should develop and implement written policies and procedures regarding conducting AAP and EEO reviews, as well as monitoring controls to ensure that these policies and procedures are adhered to.

Auditee’s Response

As the draft audit findings note, DAS has established a system control in the Access database that notifies the agency when a sponsor’s affirmative action plan is due for its five-year review. Current DAS practice includes use of EEO Maintenance Review Forms for monitoring the progress sponsors make with respect to the hiring goals in their affirmative action plans. By 12/31/2019, DLS will review, create, and/or update policies and appropriately train and monitor staff regarding those policies to ensure that system controls are effective, and that EEO compliance reviews occur annually and AAPs are reviewed at least once every five years.

Date published: August 15, 2019

Help Us Improve Mass.gov  with your feedback

Please do not include personal or contact information.
Feedback