The Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) has issued its final rule implementing the reporting requirements under the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA).
Executive Summary: The Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) has issued its final rule implementing the reporting requirements under the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA). As discussed in our prior Alert, VETS issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in February 2014, setting out its proposed revisions to the rule.
The Final Rule tracks many of the proposed changes, including changing the name of the report to "VETS-4212 Report" and rescinding the provisions of the VEVRAA regulations that provide for reporting using the VETS-100 form (which apply to contracts entered into on or before December 1, 2003) because those regulations have become obsolete. The Final Rule also simplifies the reporting requirements by requiring contractors to provide the total number of employees and new hires during the reporting period who are "protected veterans." This revision eliminates the prior rule's requirement that contractors report the number of new hires during the reporting period who are "Disabled Veterans," "Active Duty Wartime or Campaign Badge Veterans," "Armed Forces Service Medal Veterans," and "Recently Separated Veterans." VETS has stated that this revision will help contractors comply with the requirement in the OFCCP's September 2013 regulations to provide an annual assessment of their outreach and recruitment efforts, premised in part on their hiring data.
VETS will not require compliance with the reporting requirements in the Final Rule until the 2015 reporting period. Based on the new VEVRAA OFCCP regulations, once the new VETS 100A form is finalized, contractors may cease asking post-offer candidates to identify a specific veteran category on the new self-identification form.
If you have any questions regarding this Alert or other reporting or affirmative action obligations of federal contractors, please contact Linda Cavanna-Wilk, LCavanna-Wilk@fordharrison.com, who is a member of FordHarrison's Affirmative Action/OFCCP practice group. You may also contact the FordHarrison attorney with whom you usually work.