On October 19, 2012, the Administrative Review Board (ARB) reversed a previous decision made by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) that stated that the Florida Hospital of Orlando was considered a federal subcontractor because they are a TRICARE provider, and as such was subject to Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) jurisdiction. The decision can be found here: http://www.oalj.dol.gov/PUBLIC/ARB/DECISIONS/ARB_DECISIONS/OFC/11_011.OFCP.PDF.
This case dates back to 2007 when Florida Hospital of Orlando received a Compliance Review scheduling letter from the OFCCP. Florida Hospital responded that they were neither a federal contractor nor a federal subcontractor and were not complying with the request. They were issued a Notice to Show Cause.
In 2008, the OFCCP filed an Administrative Complaint with the Department of Labor’s Office of Administrative Law Judges requesting the hospital be directed to allow the OFCCP access to complete the compliance review. The ALJ ruled in 2010 that the OFCCP was correct and Florida Hospital of Orlando was considered a federal subcontractor. The hospital then filed an appeal in November. In December, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Action for Fiscal Year 2012 (NDAA), which addressed the OFCCP’s jurisdiction over TRICARE providers.
The decision released on October 19, 2012 applied the NDAA retroactively and ruled in favor of the Florida Hospital of Orlando, stating that their participation as a TRICARE network provider doesn’t constitute a federal subcontract and without any other federal contracts or subcontracts, they are not subject to OFCCP jurisdiction and as such do not have to comply with the scheduling letter. The OFCCP’s complaint was dismissed.
Please contact us by calling (732) 446-2529 or sending us an e-mail at glennbarlett@gbcs.net if you are interested in discussing the effects of this case.