Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced two final rules to improve hiring and employment of veterans and people with disabilities, but construction groups say the rules are redundant and costly.
The rules change the responsibility for federal contractors and subcontractors, requiring affirmative action hiring benchmarks in place of a simpler prohibition of discrimination. The Associated General Contractors of America (AGCA) immediately called the new rules expensive and unnecessary.
“In their effort to counter nonexistent employment challenges, the administration has developed two rules that require federal contractors to take extensive measures to combat discriminatory practices the federal government already knows barely exist,” said AGCA CEO Stephen Sandherr in a statement.
Sandherr cited a report by Applied Economic Strategies LLC that found the rule would cost $5.9 billion to implement and $2.6 billion annually to maintain.
One rule makes changes to the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), requiring contractors to annually adopt a benchmark either based on the national percentage of veterans in the workforce (currently 8 percent), or their own benchmark based on the best available data. In addition to changes in how jobs should be listed, contractors will be required for three years to compile data on the number of veterans who apply for jobs and how many they hire, and written explanations when veterans are not hired.
Similarly the Section 503 rule introduces a hiring goal for federal contractors and subcontractors that 7 percent of workers in each job group be qualified people with disabilities. Contractors must conduct an annual review and assessment of problem areas and establish specific programs to address them.
The DOL argues that the 503 rule addresses consistently low unemployment and high poverty rates among people with disabilities “despite years of technological advances that have made it possible for people with disabilities, sometimes severe, to apply for and successfully perform a broad array of jobs,” according to a DOL release.
The agency cites a 31.6 percent workforce participation rate and 15 percent unemployment rate for working-age people with disabilities in 2012, compared with 76.5 participation and 8 percent unemployment for people without disabilities.
Both rules require contractors to invite potential employees to self-identify as a veteran or a having a disability. The Department of Labor says additional collection of several points of data will help contractors measure the effectiveness of their outreach and recruitment efforts, help spot trends, and ensure accountability.
A public webinar on the VEVRAA rule will be available Sept. 11.
A webinar for the 503 rule will be available Sept. 18.
