BY: LYNN F. JACOB, SARA B. RAFAL AND LAURA D. WINDSOR
Last year, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) issued new regulations implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended (“Section 503”), and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act, as amended (“VEVRA”). They become effective on March 24, 2014.
Contractors, subcontractors and federal depositories of money (i.e. banks) (collectively “Contractors”) with affirmative action plan years that start before March 24, 2014 do not need to change their current affirmative action plan documents until the start of their next plan year. Contractors with plan years that start after March 24, 2014 will need to change their affirmative action plans for the disabled and veterans for the new plan year. This will include incorporating new verbiage and establishing benchmarks for hiring protected veterans and utilization goals for individuals with disabilities. So, if a Contractor has affirmative action plans that run from January 1 to December 31, the Contractor needs to change its January 1, 2015 plans for protected veterans and the disabled. If a Contractor is on an April 1 to March 31 plan year, it must implement the new plan regulations for its April 1, 2014 plans.
Irrespective of a Contractor’s affirmative action plan year, numerous non-plan requirements related to the disabled and protected veterans apply to all Contractors as of March 24, 2014. Starting on March 24, 2014, all Contractors are expected to:
Contractors whose plan years start before March 24, 2014 are not required to go back and amend their 2013 plans. However they should prepare for the new benchmarks and utilization goals that they will be required to adopt in the coming months by contacting disability and veteran groups to assist with their recruitment efforts. They should also begin communicating about career aspirations with current employees with known disabilities and discussing barriers to achieving such aspirations and the manner, if any, in which the Contractor can assist. All companies should prepare to implement the non-plan requirements on March 24, 2014.