Changes
took place March 24, 2014 was the effective rules from the Office of Federal
Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) that required certain federal contractors to
increase their affirmative action efforts, specifically rules applicable to
veterans, individuals with disabilities.
Contractors were previously required to create affirmative action plans
for these two groups, the success was not measured by quantifiable metrics. Federal
contractors with 50 or more employees and at least $50,000 in federal contracts.
Federal contractors with 50 or more employees and at least $100,000 in federal
contract must develop affirmative action programs for veterans. While federal
contractors with fewer than 50 employees and more than $10.000 in federal
contracts are not required to develop a written affirmative action programs,
they have certain other affirmative action obligations.
Changes
apply to the self-identification category requiring employers to offer
individuals to the opportunity to self-identify at both the pre-offer stage and
post-offer stage. At the pre-offer stage,
applicants must be asked whether they believe they qualify as a veteran in any
of the protected categories. At the
post-offer stage, individuals must be invited to identify which (if any) of the
specific protected veteran categories they fit.
Veterans
New
regulations require contractors 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. The
new regulations state the “benchmark is not a rigid and inflexible quota that
must be met, as quotas are forbidden. A
contractor’s failure to meet the benchmark does not constitute a violation.
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. To measure its success against this goal, the contractor must calculate
the percentage of individuals with disabilities in each job group and then
compare that data with the 7 percent utilization goal. The OFCCP regulations
allow contractors with fewer than 100 employees to apply the 7 percent goal to
the entire workforce, as opposed to applying the 7 percent goal to each job
group.
The
regulations state that the utilization goal is not a quota, and that the
failure to meet the goal does not automatically constitute a violation. But if
a contractor fails to meet a goal, the contractor must take steps to assess
whether impediments exist and develop action-oriented programs to correct any
problem areas.
Self-Identification
The
regulations impose new requirements concerning self-identification of
applicants and employees. The new regulations addressing individuals with
disabilities require that the contractor: (1) invite applicants to
self-identify as an individual with a disability; (2) invite individuals, after
an offer of employment is extended but before the employees begins the job, to
voluntarily self-identify (this was an existing requirement under the previous
regulations); (3) invite all employees to self-identify (within the first year
that the contractor becomes subject to the new regulation addressing
self-identification and at five-year intervals thereafter); and (4) remind
employees, at least once during the intervening years of the employee
self-identification process, that they may voluntary update their disability
status. The regulations state that the contractor may not compel or coerce
individuals to self-identify.
Equal
Opportunity Clause
The
new regulations require that contractors include an equal opportunity clause
(EO Clause) in its covered contracts and subcontracts. The regulations provide
that contractors may incorporate the EO Clause by reference, but only by citing
to the relevant regulations and including specific language in the contract.
The EO Clause for individuals with disabilities includes a new provision that
requires a contractor to state in solicitations and advertisements that it is
an equal opportunity employer of individuals with disabilities.
The Office of
Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP_ http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/section503.htm
See
you soon!
April
D. Halliburton, Founder/President
Website:
http://www.all4hr.net
Google:
All-4-HR & Business Solutions
Office: (313) 573-6677
Fax: (313) 447-3021
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