OFCCP Reports to Congress On Its Activities

By Edwin S. Hopson

On September 29, 2010, Deputy Director Les Jin of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs of the U.S. Department of Labor (OFCCP) testified before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs regarding OFCCP’s activities over the last year.  He discussed OFCCP’s enforcement of (a) Executive Order 11246, which pertains to the civil rights of employees of federal contractors and subcontractors, (b) the .Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of1974 (VEVRAA), which prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating against specified categories of veterans, including disabled veterans, and which requires that federal contractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment such veterans, and (c) Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 503) that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities and requires that federal contractors take affirmative action in the employment of such individuals.  OFCCP, according to Jin, oversees more than 200,000 establishments with contracts amounting to approximately $700 billion.

Grace Period Announced for Filing of VETS-100 and VETS-100A Reports

By Michelle D. Wyrick

The Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (“VETS”) has announced an enforcement grace period for filing VETS-100 and VETS-100A reports.  Although the filing deadline for the 2009 VETS-100 and VETS-100A reports was September 30, 2009, because of the high volume of e-mails and calls to the VETS-100 help desk, VETS announced that federal contractors who were unable to reach the help desk for assistance now have until October 31, 2009 to file their VETS-100 or VETS-100A reports. 

A federal contractor is required to file the VETS-100 report if it has a government contract or subcontract in the amount of $25,000 or more that was entered into before December 1, 2003.  A federal contractor must submit a VETS-100A report if it has a current government contract or subcontract in the amount of $100,000 or more that was entered into on or after December 1, 2003 or a current government contract or subcontract that was modified on or after December 1, 2003 and the modified contract or subcontract is in the amount of $100,000 or more.