Federal contractors and subcontractors across the United States are preparing to implement revised regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) in regard to protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. These revised regulations were issued on September 24, 2013. Some of the requirements in these revised regulations must be implemented by March 24, 2014, while other requirements must be implemented when companies next update their affirmative action plans for veterans and individuals with disabilities.
In this article, we’re going to focus on the provisions in the revised regulations that must be implemented by March 24. While these provisions may not be the most onerous in the revised regulations, they do not have the kind of flexibility in regard to implementation date that is associated with other portions of the revised regulations.
Subparts Within the Revised Regulations
The revised regulations for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities are each divided into five major parts.
- Subpart A contains preliminary matters and, more critically, the equal opportunity clause that has certain provisions that must be implemented by March 24, 2014.
- Subpart B contains information on discrimination and certain actions that are prohibited under the regulations. Subpart B also contains a few provisions that must be implemented by March 24.
- Subpart C contains provisions regarding a company’s affirmative action program. Subpart C includes the data metrics, surveying requirements, and many of the other provisions that are of greatest concern to federal contractors and subcontractors. However, these are also the provisions that do not need to be implemented until a company’s affirmative action plans are first updated after March 24, 2014.
- Subpart D contains information on enforcement of the regulations and on complaint procedures.
- Subpart E contains various ancillary matters including information on record-keeping and OFCCP’s right to access records.
Companies Covered by Subparts A and B
Certain companies that may be covered under Subparts A, B, D, and E of the revised regulations are not covered by Subpart C of the regulations. Subparts A and B are the portions of the revised regulations that contain provisions that must be implemented by March 24, 2014.
- In order to be covered by Subparts A and B of the revised regulations regarding individuals with disabilities, a company must have a single federal contract or subcontract of $10,000 or more. A higher $50,000 threshold for coverage only applies to Subpart C of the regulations for individuals with disabilities. Also, the requirement that an organization must have 50 or more employees is another threshold only associated with Subpart C of the revised regulations.
- In order to be covered by Subparts A and B of the revised regulations regarding protected veterans, a company must have a single federal contract or subcontract of $100,000 or more. While this dollar threshold is the same as for Subpart C of the revised veterans regulations, there is no requirement that companies must have 50 or more employees in order to be covered by Subparts A and B.
Because of the different thresholds associated with coverage under the regulations for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities, not all companies have the same requirements under these regulations. For example, a company that has fewer than 50 employees and a federal contract of $10,000 has no requirement to develop an affirmative action plan, and no responsibilities at all under the veterans regulations, but it must adhere to the requirements found in Subparts A and B of the revised regulations regarding individuals with disabilities. As another example, a company with fewer than 50 employees and a federal contract of $100,000 would have no requirement to develop an affirmative action plan for veterans or individuals with disabilities, but it would need to adhere to the requirements found in Subparts A and B of both the revised regulations for protected veterans and for individuals with disabilities.
New Requirements That Must Be Implemented by March 24, 2014
Below is a synopsis of the major new requirements in the revised regulations that must be implemented by March 24, 2014. We’re also going to provide a basic assessment of how difficult it may be for a small, single-site company to implement these requirements, how difficult it may be for a larger, multi-site company to implement these requirements, and who may need to be involved in implementation activities. Please note that the actual difficulty in implementing any particular requirement as well as the persons to be involved in implementation will differ from company to company.
- Companies must post a notice available to all employees – OFCCP will be making available to federal contractors and subcontractors a notice that must be sent to all employees concerning their rights under the federal affirmative action laws for veterans and individuals with disabilities. This notice must be provided in a form that is accessible and understandable to employees with disabilities. If a company has employees at remote locations, the notice may be posted in an electronic format under certain circumstances. An electronic version of the notice may be posted on the company’s intranet site or sent via
e-mail to employees. However, the company must ensure that all employees have access to the notice.
-Difficulty of implementation for small, single-site companies: relatively easy
-Difficulty of implementation for larger, multi-site companies: relatively difficult
-Who may be involved in implementation: human resources, corporate IT
–NOTE: As of January 20, 2014, this notice has not been made available by OFCCP
- Companies must post a notice available to applicants – OFCCP will be making available a notice that must be accessible to applicants concerning their rights under the laws for veterans and individuals with disabilities. This notice must be provided in a form that is accessible and understandable to applicants with disabilities. For companies that use an electronic application process, an electronic notice must be posted to notify applicants of their rights. When an electronic applicant notice is used, the notice must be “conspicuously stored with, or as part of, the electronic application.” (This quote is from the federal regulations.)
-Difficulty of implementation for small, single-site companies: fairly difficult
-Difficulty of implementation for larger, multi-site companies: difficult
-Who may be involved in implementation: human resources, corporate IT, applicant tracking system (ATS) vendor
–NOTE: As of January 20, 2014, this notice has not been made available by OFCCP
- Companies must state in all job advertisements that qualified protected veterans and individuals with disabilities will be considered for employment – OFCCP will require a statement in all advertisements along the lines of “Equal Opportunity Employer of Protected Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities.” Companies may NOT use abbreviated statements such as “EOE-M/F/D/V.”
-Difficulty of implementation for small, single-site companies: relatively easy
-Difficulty of implementation for larger, multi-site companies: relatively easy
-Who may be involved in implementation: human resources (specifically recruiting), outside vendors used for advertising
- New requirements for listing jobs with state employment service delivery systems (ESDS) offices – Federal contractors and subcontractors must list openings with the relevant Employment Service Delivery System (ESDS) office. The company must inform the ESDS office in each state where it has establishments of the company’s status as a federal contractor or subcontractor and must request priority referral of protected veterans. Information must be provided to the ESDS office in “any manner and format permitted” by the office. Companies must provide name and location of each hiring location within a state as well as the name of a “contractor official” for each location. The “contractor official” may be a human resources contact, senior management contact, or other employee who can verify information about the location. Companies must also provide contact information for any “external job search organization” used to “assist in its hiring.” Companies must provide the information noted above about locations, contractor officials, and external job search organizations “simultaneously with the [employer’s] first job listing at each [ESDS]” after March 24, 2014. Finally, companies must update any change to the information noted above with the relevant ESDS office at the time of the next job listing after the change.
-Difficulty of implementation for small, single-site companies: moderately difficult
-Difficulty of implementation for larger, multi-site companies: very difficult
-Who may be involved in implementation: human resources (especially recruiters), corporate IT, outside vendors used for recruiting, outside vendors used to list positions
- Companies must include a specific EEO clause in all subcontracts and purchase orders – Federal contractors and subcontractors must include a paragraph concerning veterans AND a paragraph concerning individuals with disabilities in subcontracts and purchase orders. The clause for protected veterans must cite to 41 CFR 60-300.5(a), must be in BOLD text, and must read, in an unmodified way, as follows:
- This contractor and subcontractor shall abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60–300.5(a). This regulation prohibits discrimination against qualified protected veterans, and requires affirmative action by covered prime contractors and subcontractors to employ and advance in employment qualified protected veterans.
The clause for individuals with disabilities must cite to 41 CFR 60-741.5(a), must be in BOLD text, and must read, in an unmodified way, as follows:
- This contractor and subcontractor shall abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-741.5(a). This regulation prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals on the basis of disability, and requires affirmative action by covered prime contractors and subcontractors to employ and advance in employment qualified individuals with disabilities.
-Difficulty of implementation for small, single-site companies: moderately difficult
-Difficulty of implementation for larger, multi-site companies: moderately difficult
-Who may be involved in implementation: human resources, purchasing, sales
- Companies must ensure that their online application systems are accessible to individuals with disabilities – Companies must provide individuals with disabilities who are unable to use their online application systems a reasonable accommodation for applying for open positions.
-Difficulty of implementation for small, single-site companies: moderately difficult
-Difficulty of implementation for larger, multi-site companies: moderately difficult
-Who may be involved in implementation: human resources, outside vendors used for advertising
- Union Notification – A federal contractor or subcontractor must provide notice to employee groups with which it has a collective bargaining agreement that the company is bound by the federal affirmative action laws protecting certain classes of veterans, and that the company will take affirmative action and avoid discrimination against protected veterans.
-Difficulty of implementation for small, single-site companies: easy
-Difficulty of implementation for larger, multi-site companies: fairly easy
-Who may be involved in implementation: human resources (especially labor relations), legal counsel
Federal contractors and subcontractors should watch OFCCP’s website at http://www.dol.gov/ofccp to learn when the notice to employees and applicants described above becomes available. Companies that are subject to all of the requirements above should begin to plan now on how they will implement these various requirements. During affirmative action compliance reviews beginning in late March, OFCCP compliance officers will have the right to ask for documentation that demonstrates these requirements have been satisfied.
For more information on OFCCP’s revised regulations regarding protected veterans and individuals with disabilities, please contact Bill Osterndorf at [email protected].