Outreach to Veterans: Are You Meeting Your Obligations?

Federal contractors and subcontractors that are covered under the Vietnam Era Veteran’s Readjustment Act of 1974 (VEVRAA) are required to take affirmative action in employing and advancing covered veterans. In practice, this means that contractors must engage in outreach and recruitment to attract qualified protected veterans to get them to apply. One of the requirements under the regulations is to post all (with limited exception) external positions with the state employment office. In recent years, OFCCP has been laser focused on this part of the affirmative action program during the course of a compliance evaluation. Meaning, OFCCP is specifically asking about efforts related to protected veteran outreach and recruitment and proof to back it up.

Many conciliation agreements have been issued because OFCCP does not deem the contractors good faith efforts to be “good” enough. Therefore, it is important to enhance your good faith efforts with a strategic recruitment plan that includes more than web job postings.

When thinking about your recruitment strategy for covered veterans, there are two important questions to consider: 1) Are you aware of the resources available to assist you in attracting and recruiting qualified covered veterans and 2) Are you maximizing these resources? To assist you in answering these questions, below are a couple of tips (and reminders) to add to your “outreach toolkit.”

Tips to Ramp up Your Outreach Efforts:

• All job postings (excluding postings for internal-only positions, executive and senior management positions and for positions lasting 3 days or less) should be submitted to your local state’s job bank site and on VetSuccess. Follow up with the local state representative and maintain proof of posting.
• Directly contact a Veterans Employment Representative, from the American Job Center, and let them know that you are hiring! You can further build a relationship by inviting them onsite to learn of your various openings.
• Contact your local military base to learn of upcoming job fairs or opportunities to interact with newly discharged veterans. This information can often be found through their Military and Family Support Centers.
• Partner with organizations like the Employer Support of The Guard and Reserve (ESGR).
• Contact a national military and veteran association to learn of potential partnership and recruitment opportunities.
• Enlist the assistance of your employees --- start a Veterans Employee Resource Group/Affinity Group. Members from this group can serve as your recruiting ambassadors.

by David Cohen and Yevonessa Hall, DCI Consulting Group