One South Carolina defense contractor found out just how much labor codes matter on a contract. DE Government Solutions, LLC, formerly known as Onvoi LLC, had to pay $1,705,441 in back wages and fringe employees to 81 employees in 21 states. The U.S. Department of Labor conducted an investigation on the organization, determining that the contractor had violated the McNamara-O’Hara Services Contract Act and had not paid its employees according to the requirements. The contractor paid their employees as word processors, instead of ID clerks, which resulted in less cash in the employees’ pockets. Because of a vague position description on the contract, employees at 30 DoD locations were impacted by the misclassification. The clearer the position description, the more accurate the labor category will be, and the less headaches you’ll have later on when the contract is over and audited.
“D2 Government Solutions cooperated throughout the course of the investigation and agreed to audit its pay practices and contracts quickly to ensure compliance with the law and to pay employees all back wages and benefits found due by Wage and Hour Division investigators,” Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Michael Lazzeri in Chicago said.
Layoffs Impacting the Cleared Industry
| Sikorsky | Sikorsky has announced plans to close its helicopter plant in Coatesville, PA. As of March 2022, 360 jobs will be ended. State representatives and local officials announce disappointment at the plant closing, as there have been talks in the works for the past two years to keep the doors open. With completion of Marine One, the company can no longer hold off on closing the facility. As for layoffs, 240 people are expected to be out of work; however, 120 will have options to work remotely or relocate. Lockheed Martin has confirmed the decision, saying that the company “has made a final decision to exit its Coatesville facility and consolidate the work in other Lockheed Martin locations due to a downturn in the commercial helicopter sector.” |
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Hiring impacting the Cleared Industry
| USCIS | In order to better meet the immigration needs of the country, the White House plans to hire hundreds at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The new plan provides USCIS with the authority to rule on asylum cases. In other words, immigrants would be able to skip the DOJ immigration courts, and USCIS employees will be able to make decisions on the ground. However, in order to make this a reality, the agency will need to on board at least 800 more employees initially, with a target of 2,000 new positions. The work could grow even more with up to 4,600 new hires.
“These proposed changes will significantly improve DHS’s and DOJ’s ability to more promptly and efficiently consider the asylum claims of individuals encountered at or near the border, while ensuring fundamental fairness,” said Secretary Ali Mayorkas. “Individuals who are eligible will receive relief more swiftly, while those who are not eligible will be expeditiously removed.” |
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Cleared Employer at Work: KPMG
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Opportunity to Watch
Sometimes getting an internship within federal government has been challenging – an issue that the Partnership for Public Service has often highlighted. With updates from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), new regulations are going into effect that will allow federal agencies to start offering internships or temporary jobs to college students, with the option of converting the opening to a permanent future position. The move will help the federal government not only attract a younger workforce, but it will also provide more flexibility in meeting needs. While internship programs are not new, the ability to use the programs as a recruiting pipeline is new for federal government.
College students will also be able to pause their agency work to complete more studies or complete part time work at a federal agency while continuing their classes at school. Students can get hired at a GS-11 level or lower.
“The intent of the program is for students to either attend classes, work at the agency or both,” the regulations state. “An agency may use its discretion in either approving or denying a request for a break in program.”
With the new rule, agencies are allowed to skip posting on USAJOBS – a move that alone could increase the likelihood of a younger workforce’s ability to navigate the hiring process. But the best part about the whole process is that the drive for the internship is more than just a summer or year-long stint as a college student. It has the ability to translate into a full-time position, upon graduation, with time of service beginning during the internship/temporary position.
“Upon conversion, the time served by a post-secondary student under this authority is creditable toward career tenure and may count towards fulfillment of the probationary period,” OPM wrote.
