Source: https://www.localjobnetwork.com/a/7504
Timestamp: 2019-07-23 12:24:44
Document Index: 680561878

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 60', '§ 60', '§ 60', '§ 60', '§ 60', '§ 60']

Federal contractors and subcontractors continue to prepare to implement the revised regulations regarding protected veterans and individuals with disabilities that were issued by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). There are certain provisions in these revised regulations that must be implemented by March 24, 2014. I discussed these provisions in my January 2014 article for The OFCCP Digest.
Before continuing, it is worth noting that FAQs do NOT have the force of law in the same way that federal regulations do. There is a defined procedure that a government agency must follow to put a regulation into place. The regulation then has the full force of law and must be implemented by the parties at issue until the regulation is withdrawn or a court finds the regulation is an improper exercise of the agency's authority. In order to help individuals and companies understand laws and regulations, agencies such as OFCCP routinely release various forms of guidance. These forms of guidance may come in the guise of directives, policy statements, or answers to frequently asked questions. Regulatory agencies such as OFCCP have the right to issue these forms of guidance, and, more importantly, have the right to unilaterally withdraw these forms of guidance. In fact, OFCCP has at times argued during administrative proceedings that it is not bound to follow its own directives or FAQs. Thus, the information in the recently released FAQs from OFCCP is helpful and interesting, but there is no guarantee that OFCCP will consistently follow the guidance in these FAQs. OFCCP has the right to modify the position it expresses in these FAQs at its discretion. This is very different than the requirements found in the revised regulations themselves, which OFCCP MUST follow until the regulations are formally withdrawn.
For those contractors that elect to incorporate the required Equal Opportunity (EO) clauses by reference, may the "incorporation by reference" clause required by 41 CFR § 60-300.5(a) be combined with the "incorporation by reference" clause required by 41 CFR § 60-741.5(a)?
Yes, contractors may combine these two EO "incorporation by reference" clauses provided that the combined clause is set in bold text and the prescribed content of both clauses is preserved. The following example provides one illustration of how this might be done:
Are federal contractors permitted to combine all of the Equal Opportunity (EO) clauses required by 41 CFR § 60-300.5(a), 41 CFR § 60-741.5(a), and 41 CFR § 60-1.4(a) (or for construction contractors, 41 CFR § 60-4.3(a)) into a single, consolidated "incorporation by reference" clause?
One of the actions that federal contractors and subcontractors are required to take by March 24 involves notices that are to be made available to applicants and employees. The revised regulations for veterans and individuals with disabilities both state that OFCCP will make available "notices in a form to be prescribed by the Director" of OFCCP. While OFCCP has made no formal notice specifically available to federal contractors and subcontractors, the recent FAQs provide information on what companies are expected to do in this regard.
Providing the "EEO is the Law" poster in an alternate format, such as large print or Braille, is a form of reasonable accommodation. Therefore, contractors must make the poster available in such an alternate format only when an applicant or employee requests the poster in an alternate format, or when the contractor knows that an applicant or employee is unable to read the poster because of a disability. Contractors may also provide the poster to an applicant or employee with a disability in other alternate formats, such as on disc or in an audio recording, so long as the format provided enables the individual with a disability to access the contents of the poster.
The revised regulations require contractors to "conspicuously store" the "EEO is the Law" poster with, or as part of, an electronic application. Does this mean that an actual physical or electronic copy of the poster must be individually stored with each application?
The revised regulations themselves state that "applicants or employees…are provided the notice in a form that is accessible and understandable" to individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans. The revised regulations also state that "An electronic posting must be used by the contractor to notify job applicants of their rights if the contractor utilizes an electronic application process. Such electronic applicant notice must be conspicuously stored with, or as part of, the electronic application." [emphasis added in both cases] However, there is NO language in the regulations that speaks to the "EEO is the Law" poster. Based on the language of the FAQs, it appears that OFCCP believes that the "EEO is the Law" poster constitutes the notice required by the regulations.
The notice to employees (which we now understand is the "EEO is the Law" poster) must be made available to all employees. A physical version of the notice may be posted in various locations. An electronic version of the notice may be posted on the company's intranet site and sent via e-mail to employees. The company must ensure that all employees have access to the notice. In the FAQ noted above on the use of different versions of the notice, OFCCP states that companies must make the "EEO is the Law" poster available in an alternate format ONLY when an employee requests the poster in an alternate format or when the company knows an employee is unable to read the poster because of a disability.
A notice (i.e. the "EEO is the Law" poster) must also be made available to all applicants. Again, a physical version of this notice may be posted in various locations where individuals appear in person to complete application materials. However, since most companies use an electronic application process to accept applicant information, the more critical issue is ensuring that there is a way to make the "EEO is the Law" poster available to all applicants. OFCCP indicates in the FAQ noted above that "a contractor may choose to satisfy this requirement in any way that ensures that every electronic applicant has the opportunity to view the poster during the application process, such as by displaying a prominent link to the poster, along with a brief explanation of what the link connects to, as part of their electronic application." Companies are certainly allowed to include the entire "EEO is the Law" poster in job postings, but in any case companies must also be able to satisfy OFCCP's requirement that the notice is "conspicuously stored with…the electronic application." Including a link to the "EEO is the Law" poster in the application form appears to satisfy this requirement. As with the notice to employees, companies are not required to make the "EEO is the Law" poster available in alternate formats unless an applicant requests an alternate format or the company knows that an applicant is unable to read the poster because of a disability.
Companies must state in all job advertisements that qualified protected veterans and individuals with disabilities will be considered for employment. OFCCP has issued an FAQ covering this requirement that provides guidance on what should be included in advertisements. At a minimum, the words "disability" and "vet" must appear.
Companies must meet new requirements for listing jobs with state employment service delivery systems (ESDS) offices. There are a variety of new requirements regarding listings with the various ESDS offices. Federal contractors and subcontractors must inform the relevant ESDS offices of its locations in that state and a contact for these locations. Companies must inform the ESDS of their status as a federal contractor or subcontractor and must request priority referral of protected veterans. Companies must also provide contact information for any "external job search organization" used to "assist in its hiring."
There are other recent FAQs that cover items not discussed in this article. These FAQs concern subjects that are associated with requirements that must be implemented by federal contractors and subcontractors when their affirmative action plans are next updated. For example, there are recent FAQs on the "data analysis file" that is required for storing data on disability status and on the minimum job group size associated with the 7% disability utilization goal. If you wish to read the FAQs regarding the regulations for protected veterans, they can be found at http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/faqs/VEVRAA_faq.htm, while the FAQs regarding the regulations for individuals with disabilities can be found at http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/faqs/503_faq.htm.
For more information on OFCCP's revised regulations regarding protected veterans and individuals with disabilities, please contact Bill Osterndorf at wosterndorf@hranalytical.com.