On Dec. 9, 2011, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued its proposed rule to revise regulations under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act implementing affirmative action and nondiscrimination obligations to contractors and subcontractors, and to evaluate the affirmative action provisions. Currently, employers that have a direct contract (including a construction contract) with the federal government or its agencies that is valued at $10,000 or more, or that have a subcontract of the same value required to complete a direct federal contract, are required to engage in affirmative action related to individuals with disabilities. Projects that are funded by federal aid programs, such as the federal aid highway program, are not affected.Such federal contractors (or subcontractors) with 50 or more employees and a contract of $50,000 or more are also required to create an affirmative action program containing certain required provisions. If implemented, construction employers would be required to complete additional statistical analysis on their workforce, regardless of where projects are located or how long such projects last. Given the unique seasonal and often transitory nature of the industry, this would place a significant burden on construction contractors.
AGC has more information available on the proposed rule including hiring goals, record keeping requirements and annual reports, linkage agreements, performing self-assessments, hiring requirements and new language for subcontracts. Please review this information on the AGC website.
The comment deadline is Feb. 7, 2012, however, given the importance of the proposal AGC submitted a letter to OFCCP requesting an additional 60 days to more thoroughly review and comment on the newly proposed requirements, for which we are still awaiting a response.
Members interested in providing feedback to AGC should contact Tamika Carter at (703) 837-5382 or cartert@agc.org.
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