Explain the requirements for putting together an Affirmative Action Plan (AAP). Include a discussion on mandatory and non-mandatory issues.

Once a company reaches 50 or more employees, and meets any of the below criteria, it has 120 days to create an Affirmative Action Plan. Every year the company remains larger than 50 employees and meets the federal contracts guidelines listed below, it is required to update the plan to track changes in employee population and employee transactions.

In some instances, companies are required to implement an Affirmative Action Plan without a direct government contract. If government contractors purchase at least $50,000 worth of goods to fulfill their obligations on a government contract, then the goods’ seller is also subject to the OFFCP’s laws.

A prime example is a hardware company which sells screws to a company that builds Navy submarines. Although there’s no direct contract with the government for the hardware company, accepting the order as part of a government contract makes it a bill of lading, and if it exceeds $50,000 total revenue on those deals, then both sides must comply with Affirmative Action law.