October 10, 2006

Robert Wilson

Chief, Division of Investigation and Compliance

VETS, U.S. Department of Labor

Room S-1316

200 Constitution Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20210

VIA EMAIL: <FCP-NPRM-04-VETS@dol.gov>

RE: RIN number 1293-AA12 (Proposed Form VETS-100A)

Dear Mr. Wilson:

TOC Management Services is an employers' association with over 500
member companies in the Pacific Northwest. Approximately 75 of our
member companies are federal contractors who are required to maintain
affirmative action plans. Some of our federal contractor members are
large companies with multiple locations in many states, while others
operate only a single worksite.

On behalf of our member companies, please accept these comments from TOC
on your proposal to require federal contractors to complete a new form,
the VETS-100A, to track the new veterans categories established in the
Jobs for Veterans Act (JVA) (71 *Fed Reg* 44945, August 8, 2006).

The proposed regulations would require contractors with covered
contracts signed both before and on or after December 1, 2003, to
complete both the VETS-100 and VETS-100A. Each form uses four categories
of protected veterans, with only one of those categories overlapping
(other veterans who served in a war or campaign). This would be
extremely confusing for employers to track and comply with.

We realize that the Department of Labor (DOL) is constrained by the text
of the statute(s). However, the DOL has some flexibility as a matter of
enforcement policy. The DOL could state that if an employer has federal
contracts of at least \$100,000 signed on or after December 1, 2003, the
employer will be required to file only the new VETS-100A, even if the
employer also has other covered contracts that were signed earlier.
Employers who have only federal contracts of at least \$25,000 that were
signed prior to December 1, 2003, would be required to file only the
VETS-100. This would give employers a clear direction as to which for to
file, and would avoid the problem of requiring employers to maintain two
parallel tracking systems for veterans. In the event that a federal
contractor with affirmative action obligations under only the old rules
signs a new federal contract worth \$100,000 with an effective date that
occurs after a new affirmative action plan (AAP) recordkeeping year has
begun, we recommend that the contractor have the option of submitting
the next VETS-100 Report under the old rules.

The reason for allowing this flexibility is that if an employer is
already partway through the AAP recordkeeping year or the VETS-100
reporting period, it will be difficult and in some cases impossible to
backtrack and gather accurate data for the new categories. Also,
employers will need sufficient lead time to make changes in their data
collection forms and tracking systems to implement the new veterans
categories. On the other hand, depending on how early in the
recordkeeping year or VETS-100 year the new contract becomes effective,
some employers may have the desire, resources and ability to switch over
to the new categories. For these reasons, allowing employers the option
of continuing with the old categories during the current AAP
recordkeeping year or VETS-100 year makes sense.

One final item to note is that for many years the VETS-100 data was
based on a single snapshot of the current workforce in the third
quarter. However, with the requirement to track "recently separated
veterans" as well as the VETS-100 Report's relatively new request for
data on new hires, an employer's reporting obligation for veterans has
been expanded to include personnel activity during a full year.
Switching categories mid-stream therefore would be much more burdensome
today than it would have been in years past.

## Conclusion

I hope this feedback is useful. Again, we believe it is essential for an
employer to be governed by only one set of veterans regulations at a
time (and file only one VETS-100 form at a time), instead of being
subject to two competing sets of regulations/forms. If you have any
questions about these comments, I can be reached at 503-620-1710 x326 or
by email at karen_davis@toc.org. Thank you for your time and attention.

Very truly yours,

/s/ Karen E. Davis

Research and Publications Manager

TOC Management Services