Two new rules announced this month by Vice President Joe Biden are designed to improve employment opportunities for veterans and people with disabilities. The first rule, under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act, requires federal contractors to establish an annual hiring benchmark, either based on the national percentage of veterans in the workforce (presently 8%), or based on the best available data and factors unique to their establishments. The second rule, under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, establishes a 7% utilization goal for the employment of individuals with disabilities for federal contractors.
The U.S. Department of Labor has a webinar on the rule focused on people with disabilities, which will be held at 1 pm central on September 18. [The webinar has ended.]
The rules will be published shortly in the Federal Register and will take effect 180 days later. You can read the Final Rules on the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. There you can also find other information about the new rules.