by Patricia A. Schaeffer, Vice President-Regulatory Affairs
On Wednesday, August 8, 2007, OFCCP will publish in the Federal Register its final rule implementing the amendments to the affirmative action provisions of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA) that were made by the Jobs for Veterans Act (JVA) enacted in 2002.
DCI is currently analyzing an advanced copy of the final rule, and we will provide additional information separately. However, given the intense interest contractors have regarding the mandatory job listing requirements since America’s Job Bank has been discontinued, the following text has been taken from the advanced copy of the final rule and offered for your immediate review.
Please note: One of the ways contractors will be able to meet their mandatory job listing requirements is by posting with the state workforce agency where the opening occurs.
The text of the final rule, according to the advance copy, states in part:
2. The contractor agrees to immediately list all employment openings which exist at the time of the execution of this contract and those which occur during the performance of this contract, including those not generated by this contract and including those occurring at an establishment of the contractor other than the one where the contract is being performed, but excluding those of independently operated corporate affiliates, with the appropriate employment service delivery system where the opening occurs. Listing employment openings with the state workforce agency job bank or with the local employment service delivery system where the opening occurs will satisfy the requirement to list jobs with the appropriate employment service delivery system.
3. Listing of employment openings with the appropriate employment service delivery system pursuant to this clause shall be made at least concurrently with the use of any other recruitment source or effort and shall involve the normal obligations which attach to the placing of a bona fide job order, including the acceptance of referrals of veterans and nonveterans. The listing of employment openings does not require the hiring of any particular job applicants or from any particular group of job applicants, and nothing herein is intended to relieve the contractor from any requirements in Executive orders or regulations regarding nondiscrimination in employment.
4. Whenever a contractor, other than a state or local governmental contractor, becomes contractually bound to the listing provisions in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this clause, it shall advise the state workforce agency in each state where it has establishments of the name and location of each hiring location in the state. As long as the contractor is contractually bound to these provisions and has so advised the state agency, there is no need to advise the state agency of subsequent contracts. The contractor may advise the state agency when it is no longer bound by this contract clause.
5. The provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3 of this clause do not apply to the listing of employment openings which occur and are filled outside of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Wake Island, and the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands. [Emphasis added]
Further, OFCCP states in the preamble of the final rule that contractors may satisfy the mandatory job listing requirement by submitting job listings to the appropriate employment delivery system in a variety of ways, including via mail, fax, electronic mail, or other electronic postings.
The preamble also states: “Contractors may use third parties, such as private or non-profit sector job banks, Internet gateway and portal sites, and recruiting services and directories, to assist them with the transmission of job postings to the appropriate employment delivery system.”
OFCCP will provide a link on its website to all state workforce agency job banks. The link will allow contractors to identify those state workforce agency job banks that accept electronically-transmitted job postings.
DCI will provide a more in-depth analysis of the final rule separately.
