Federal contractors will have to meet a 7 percent hiring goal for individuals with disabilities under a U.S. Department of Labor proposal announced December 8.
DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (41 C.F.R. 77056) which included, among other things, a mandate that employers aim to have individuals with disabilities make up 7 percent of their workforce.
The OFCCP said this rule will strengthen the affirmative action requirements established in Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Despite the law’s requirement that federal contractors and subcontractors make a good faith effort to recruit and hire workers with disabilities, the unemployment rate of such individuals remains disproportionately high. “Clearly, that’s not working,” Patricia A. Shiu, director of the OFCCP said in a statement. This proposal will require real accountability, she said.
According to the proposed rules, the purpose of this goal “is to establish a benchmark against which the contractor must measure the representation of individuals within each job group in its workforce.” It will serve as an “objective that should be attainable by complying with all aspects of the affirmative action requirements” of Section 503. (§60-741.46)
Comments may be submitted online until Feb. 7.