ALERT: Government Contractors – Important Reminders
File an EEO-1 Report by September 30, 2014
As a reminder, if your company (i) has 100 or more employees, or (ii) is a federal government contractor or first tier subcontractor with 50 or more employees and has a contract/subcontract of $50,000 or more, you are required to file the EEO-1 Report by September 30, 2014. The EEO-1 Report requires these employers to provide a count of their employees according to job category, race/ethnicity and gender. Please note that there is a new EEO-1 Job Classification Guide this year.
New Self-Identification Forms
Also, government contractors are required to use new Self-Identification Forms for gathering information about disability status and protected veteran status. In addition to inviting applicants and new hires to voluntarily identify their race and gender, government contractors are now (for the first time) required to invite applicants to voluntarily self-identify as protected veterans and/or individuals with a disability at both the pre-offer and post-offer stages of the application process. In addition, government contractors are now required to ask whether employees have a disability every 5 years. There are very specific requirements about the information that must be included in these new forms. In fact, contractors are required to use this exact form to collect disability information.
OFCCP Announces Proposed Rule Barring Contractor Pay Secrecy Policies, Retaliation
The Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs today announced a proposed rule under Executive Order 11,246 that would prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from maintaining pay secrecy policies and from discriminating against employees and applicants who discuss, disclose or inquire about compensation.
According to a notice of proposed rulemaking (RIN 1250-AA06) scheduled for publication in the Sept. 17 Federal Register, contractors must incorporate the new nondiscrimination requirement in their employee manuals or handbooks, as well as disseminate it to employees and applicants.
Additionally, the OFCCP said, the proposal also would establish two defenses that contractors may use against allegations of pay secrecy violations: “one based on enforcing rules against disruptive behavior; and the other based on the essential functions of the person’s job.”
The OFCCP’s proposed rule implements the mandates of Executive Order 13,665, which President Barack Obama signed in April 2014 (67 DLR AA-1, 4/8/14).
If you have any questions about these new requirements for government contractors, please contact Lindsey Coley at (540) 983-9376, or David Paxton at (540) 983-9334.
