OFCCP Proposes Sweeping Changes to Veterans AAPs
May 15, 2011
by Richard L. Connors
Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP
Copyright © 2011
Federal contractors would be required to establish and maintain quantitative data on the number of protected veterans who apply for and are hired for jobs, and set annual hiring benchmarks based on availability and other relevant information, under new, sweeping veterans’ affirmative action plan (AAP) regulations proposed by the Office of Federal Contracts Compliance Programs (OFCCP) on April 26, 2011.
Change in Terminology – The OFFCP would delete reference to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (or VEVRAA) and clarify that the classification of protected veterans are: (1) special disabled veterans, (2) veterans of the Vietnam era; (3) veterans who served on active duty in the Armed Forces during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized; and (4) recently separated veterans.
List Openings with State Job Service – Contractors would be required to list its jobs with the state job service in the manner that the state requires, provide its status as a federal contractor, and request “priority referrals” of protected veterans for job openings at all its locations within the state.
Keep Applicant Flow Records – Contractors would be required to maintain records, on an annual basis, of the total number of referrals it receives from the state job service, the number of priority referrals of protected veterans it receives, and the ratio of protected veteran referrals to total referrals. Such records are to provide a quantifiable measure of the availability of protected veterans in the workplace and would be required to be kept for 5 years.
Invitation to Self-Identify – In light of the difficulty of identifying protected veterans, federal contractors would be required to invite veterans to self-identify both pre- and post-offer of employment.
Required Outreach and Recruitment Efforts – Contractors would be required to engage in three outreach and recruitment efforts, including entering into linkage agreements and establishing ongoing relationships with Veterans’ Employment Representatives in the State job service and with at least one of several other listed organizations and agencies.
Annual Hiring Benchmarks – The proposed regulation would require – for the first time – that contractors establish annual hiring benchmarks, expressed as the percentage of total hires who are protected veterans that the contractor seeks to hire in the following year.
In Sum – The proposed regulations, once finalized, will increase federal contractors’ data collection obligations, require contractors to take specific actions to satisfy their AAP obligations, and – most significantly – require contractors (for the first time) to establish hiring benchmarks for veterans.
Richard L. Connors is an attorney with Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP, one of the country's largest law firms with more than 300 attorneys in more than 45-industry-focused areas. Mr. Connors represents management exclusively in employment and labor law.
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