The Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, chaired by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), will hold a hearing entitled “Examining Recent Actions by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs” on Dec. 4.
Tasked with enforcing affirmative action and nondiscrimination employment policies affecting federal contractors, including the Rehabilitation Act covering individuals with disabilities and the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act on behalf of covered veterans, the OFCCP recently finalized two rules imposing sweeping changes to those policies.
The newly finalized rules create significant administrative burdens requiring extensive analyses by contractors on their recruitment and hiring of veterans and individuals with disabilities.
Federal contractors are also required by the new regulations to hire a certain percentage of covered veterans, as well as to ensure that seven percent of each job group in their workforce includes disabled individuals.
The department noted that the required percentages are goals, but employers stand to lose federal contracts if they fail to meet the requirements. Additionally, employers will now be required to ask applicants to self-identify whether they have a disability despite the Americans with Disabilities Act explicitly prohibiting such questions.
The Department of Labor did not provide an adequate response to the committee leaders seeking more information on the regulations. Wednesday’s hearing is meant to provide members with the opportunity to discuss the effects of the new regulations and attempts by OFCCP to exert jurisdiction over healthcare providers.