OFCCP Releases FAQs on Veteran Self-Identification & New VETS-4212 Form

In response to contractor inquiries, OFCCP has posted two Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding the new VETS-4212 reporting form and the requirement to invite voluntary self-identification of protected veteran status under the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA). One FAQ addresses whether contractors must continue to invite self-identification by category of protected veteran at the post-offer stage. The other FAQ addresses contractors' ability to choose to continue to invite self-identification by category of protected veteran. Please find the OFCCP FAQs below:

1. The Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) replaced the VETS-100A form with a new VETS-4212 form. The new form requires federal contractors to report aggregate data on the number of protected veterans that were newly hired and the number they employed. This is different from the previous requirement that contractors report the data by the number of veterans in each of the individual categories for protected veterans. To comply with OFCCP's VEVRAA requirements, must contractors continue to invite applicants to self-identify using the individual categories at the post-offer stage?

Answer: No. The VEVRAA requirement, at 41 CFR 60-300.42(b), mandates that contractors invite post-offer self-identification as a protected veteran. This provision is specifically linked to the scope of the VETS reporting requirement. Accordingly, since the new VETS-4212 report no longer requires contractors to provide this information by the individual protected veteran categories, contractors are not required to invite self-identification by category in order to comply with VEVRAA's post-offer invitation requirement. Rather, contractors need only invite those offered a job to indicate whether they are protected veterans under any of the VEVRAA categories.


2. May a contractor continue to invite applicants to voluntarily self-identify as a protected veteran using the individual categories for protected veterans even though the new VETS-4212 form asks only for aggregated protected veteran data?


Answer: Yes. Though not required, contractors may choose to continue to invite applicants to voluntarily self-identify the specific category or categories of protected veteran to which they belong at the post-offer stage, so long as the contractor also provides VETS with the aggregate protected veteran data required by the VETS-4212 form.

Disability Job Fair & Symposium in Austin Texas on Friday, February 6, 2015

The U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program (OFCCP), Independent Living Experience (ILE), the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), and Workforce Solutions Capital Area invite you to attend a free Symposium and Job Fair focused on recruiting and hiring individuals with disabilities.


The fair is a community outreach event in the Austin area to educate employers and other stakeholders on the changing recruitment and accommodation responsibilities for hiring individuals with disabilities and protected veterans. OFCCP will present information related to the recent changes to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA) regulations. In addition, partnering agencies such as ILE, DARS and Workforce Solutions Capital Area will brief employers on the services and support they provide to assist individuals with disabilities in obtaining the education and training needed to find competitive employment.

Learn More About Job Fair & Symposium

CONGRATULATIONS, SHAFEEQA GIARRANTANI

Kairos is extremely pleased to announce that Shafeeqa Watkins Giarrantani has been promoted to Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright. Kairos Services partners with Shafeeqa to provide exceptional affirmative action and EEO services to companies throughout the country. Please join us as we congratulate Shafeeqa on her much deserved promotion.