With the calendar year end fast approaching, federal contractors should stay focused on their remaining compliance obligations notwithstanding the sea change in affirmative action with the Trump administration’s revocation of Executive Order 11246. Federal contractor employers continue to have affirmative action compliance obligations to “individuals with a disability” (“IWDs”), per the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and to “protected veterans” (“PVs”) per the VEVVRA law, all of which are subject to the enforcement and implementing regulations of the US Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (the “OFCCP”).
These affirmative action compliance obligations for both IWDs and PVs continue to include: (i) the preparation of written affirmative action plans (with utilization goals for IWDs and a hiring benchmark for PVs), if the appliable thresholds are met; (ii) the requirement that applicants for employment and employees be given opportunities for self-identification of their IWD/PV status; (iii) the tracking of that self-identification information and the preparation of year end statistical reports for both IWDs and PVs from that information; and (iv) compliance requirements pertaining to recruitment and otherwise.
Contractors Should Also Stay Tuned!
There may be significant changes to these compliance obligations coming next year!
In July 2025, the OFCCP issued proposals to modify its implementing regulations for these affirmative action compliance obligations for both IWDs and PVs. If the proposed regulatory changes are finalized, they would do the following:
- With respect to IWDs, a contractor would no longer be required to ask for voluntary self-identifying disability information from its applicants and employees. Further the affirmative action plan disability utilization goal requirement would be eliminated, along with any required tracking, data collection, or statistical analysis of disability status including the annual year-end report. However, the requirements to engage in good faith efforts to recruit IWDs, and to comply with other affirmative action aspects such as appropriate tag line on job listings and advertisements, and supplier/vendor notification would continue unaffected.
- With respect to PVs, the OFCCP’s proposed revisions are essentially non-substantive, meaning that the requirement to ask for voluntary self-identification from applicants and employees would remain intact, along with the obligation to track and analyze that data in a year-end report. The requirements to set an annual PV hiring benchmark, to engage in good faith outreach and recruitment efforts, and to continue with all other affirmative action compliance (such as listing of openings with the state unemployment agency), would also be unaffected by the proposed changes.
The comment period on these proposed regulatory revisions expired September 2, and we are all now awaiting the OFCCPs next step in the process, which might not likely occur until well into 2026.
Bottom Line
Until any new OFCCP regulations go into effect for IWDs and PVs, federal contractor employers should be prepared now to proceed into 2026 following their current IWD and PV affirmative action statutory and OFCCP compliance obligations.
BUT STAY TUNED!
If you have any questions regarding OFCCP compliance obligations, please contact the Jack Rowe or your regular Lathrop GPM attorney.