Contractors on Federal Jobs

Hiring Goals for Veterans

Under the revised regulations, federal contractors that are required to develop a written affirmative action program must also establish a hiring benchmark for protected veterans each year.

Contractors can choose to use the national percentage of veterans in the civilian labor force (currently 8%), as updated annually by OFCCP, as a benchmark, or they can choose to establish their own benchmark by taking into account the following factors:

o The average percentage of veterans in the civilian labor force in the state where the contractor is located over the preceding three years (as posted in the Benchmark Database on the OFCCP website)

o The number of veterans, over the previous four quarters, who participated in the employment service delivery system in the state where the contractor is located (also posted in the Benchmark Database)

o The applicant and hiring ratios for the previous year

o The contractor's recent assessments of the effectiveness of its outreach and recruitment efforts

o Any other factors, such as the nature of the job or its location, that would affect the availability of qualified protected veterans

Contractors must maintain benchmark-related records for three years.

Hiring Goals for Disabled Individuals

Federal contractors must make an effort to ensure at least 7% of each job group in their work force is composed of persons with disabilities. If a contractor has 100 or fewer employees, this goal may be applied to the entire work force.

The OFCCP stipulates that this is not a quota and that failure to meet the 7% target will not violate the regulations. However, OFCCP says that federal contractors must conduct an annual analysis to identify areas in which they are deficient and to determine specific actions intended to rectify identified problems.

Meeting the New Requirements

Construction companies working on federal projects will have to make several changes and accommodations in their current hiring processes in order to meet the new requirements. Contractors will be required to:

o Invite job applicants at the pre-offer stage and current employees at least every five years to self-identify as disabled.

o Collect and retain comparison data on disabled and veteran applicants and employees. Contractors will have to document quantitative comparisons of the number of veterans and disabled workers who applied for jobs and the number hired.

o Modify the language of subcontracts when incorporating the equal opportunity clause by reference to incorporate specific, mandated language alerting subcontractors to their responsibilities as federal contractors.

o Permit OFCCP access to documents related to a compliance check either on-site or off-site (at the OFCCP's option).

Contractors can review the final rules and a Frequently Asked Questions section on the OFCCP's website (www.dol.gov/ofccp).