Finding Government Contractors Link & the New Affirmative Action Law

On March 24, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs' (OFCCP) new regulations concerning Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act go into effect. The most significant requirement is that covered federal contractors must adopt utilization goals for individuals with disabilities and hiring benchmarks for veterans. The regulations also impose requirements having to do with data collection, as well as invitations for job applicants to self-identify as individuals with a disability or as veterans.

Basic Requirements

Job Listings and Outreach

As with the previous regulations, the new regulations require contractors to provide job listings to state employment service delivery systems. The new regulations also require that the contractor state on such listings that it is a federal contractor (e.g., by noting "VEVRAA Federal Contractor" on the listing), and indicate that it desires priority referrals from the state of protected veterans for job openings in the state. In the listing, the contractor must also list the contractor official responsible for hiring at each hiring location.

Covered Employers

Federal contractors with 50 or more employees and at least $50,000 in federal contracts must develop a written affirmative action program for minorities, females and individuals with disabilities. Federal contractors with 50 or more employees and at least $100,000 in federal contracts must develop an affirmative action program for veterans. Federal contractors with fewer than 50 employees and more than $10,000 in federal contracts are not required to develop a written affirmative action program, but they have certain other affirmative action obligations.

Veterans

The new regulations require a contractor to establish an annual "hiring benchmark" for veterans. The benchmark must be established as either 8 percent of the contractor's workforce (which represents the current national percentage of veterans in the workforce), or a figure established through other sources concerning veteran employment.

Individuals with Disabilities

Under the new regulations, the contractor must establish a 7 percent "workforce utilization goal" for employing individuals with disabilities in each job group.