Hi Gina. You're asking very good questions. Sadly, OFCCP has provided us with very poor answers. You have asked what we meant by "The total number of applicants for all jobs". OFCCP has not explicitly defined this in the context of the revised veteran and disability regulations. However, we know two things. First, in the preamble to both sets of revised regulations, OFCCP indicated that the Internet applicant rule would apply. That means that candidates who don't meet minimum qualifications, candidates who withdraw, and so on are not "applicants." The more difficult issue is internal and external applicants. In the context of the Executive Order 11246 regulations, it appears that when OFCCP speaks of applicants, it means "persons expressing interest in jobs filled through external hire." (There is some disagreement in the professional community on this point, but a comprehensive reading of the Internet applicant rule and related documents suggests OFCCP is trying to create a nexus between external applicants and external hires.) In the context of the veteran and disability regulations, it appears that when OFCCP speaks of applicants, it means "internal and external candidates expressing interest in positions filled through a competitive selection process." You also asked what we mean by "The total number of applicants hired". OFCCP has a response to a frequently asked question in which it defines "hire" as "those applicants (both internal and external to the contractor) who are hired through a competitive process, including promotions." See http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/faqs/503_faq.htm#Q38. This is certainly an awkward reading of the word "hire," especially since item 18 asks for race, ethnicity, and gender data on hires and promotions separately, suggesting a promotion is NOT a hire. However, it does appear OFCCP's FAQs on the veteran and disability regulations count any competitive selection (i.e. hire or promotion) as a "hire." NOTE: OFCCP FAQs do NOT have the force of law. They are interpretive materials from OFCCP. OFCCP may follow them, withdraw them, or disavow them as the agency pleases. Finally, you asked "Would your recommendation to include competitive internal applicants in all types of analysis that cover E.O. 11246, Section 503, and VEVRAA, since there hasn't been any official guidance from OFCCP?" I would recommend that you AVOID including internal applicants in data prepared for your Executive Order 11246 AAP. There is no regulatory requirement to do so. In fact, there is no regulatory requirement to include internal applicants in the data submitted for the veterans and disability AAP; there are only a couple of unusual FAQs that suggest internal and external applicants should be combined. As I noted above, it's our sense that for EO 11246 purposes, OFCCP wants to see external applicants compared to external hires. Including internal applicants would increase the number of individuals in your applicant pools, which increases the possibility of some type of statistically significant disparity. Including internal applicants also creates potential confusion by suggesting that internal applicants can be hired for an opening. While internal applicants can be SELECTED for an opening, and they can be PROMOTED to an opening, they cannot qualify as external hires for openings. I hope this is helpful. You may want to discuss these issues further with your lawyer or professional service provider, as these are rather complicated questions in light of the interaction of the various regulatory requirements.

You can use this OFCCP audit checklist to ensure you're doing what is required to maintain OFCCP's regulations including VEVRAA, Section 503, and EO 11246. Or request a demo to streamline your compliance and recruiting efforts.