Executive Summary: The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has sent its final rules amending federal contractors' affirmative action and nondiscrimination obligations toward disabled persons and protected veterans to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. Review by the OMB is the final step before an agency rule is finalized and published.
The rules would amend the regulations implementing the nondiscrimination and affirmative action provisions of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA). The proposed changes include amending federal contractors' and subcontractors' affirmative action requirements, requiring more substantive analysis of recruitment and placement actions taken under both laws, and requiring the use of goals and/or benchmarks to assess the effectiveness of affirmative action efforts. The rules would also revise certain recordkeeping requirements.
The OFCCP published two separate Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in 2011. If the final rules follow the proposed rules, they will impose substantial additional obligations on contractors. For a discussion of the proposed rules, please see our prior Legal Alerts, OFCCP Proposes Changes to Rehabilitation Act Regulations and OFCCP Publishes Proposed Veteran Regulations.
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