DBTAC: Southeast ADA Center

US Labor Department Seeks Public Input to Strengthen Disability Regulations

July 22, 2010

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is seeking input from the public on ways to strengthen its regulations requiring federal contractors to take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment qualified individuals with disabilities. In an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to be published in the Federal Register July 23, the agency invites the public to help revise the regulations implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Topics on which comment is requested include:

• What employment practices have been effective in recruiting, hiring, advancing and retaining qualified individuals with disabilities.
• What data are available that could be used to establish hiring goals and conduct utilization analyses of individuals with disabilities.
• How linkage agreements between federal contractors and organizations that focus on the employment of qualified individuals with disabilities can be strengthened to increase effectiveness.

Comments must be received by OFCCP within 60 days of the ANPRM's publication. To read the ANPRM or submit a comment, go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. The deadline for receiving comments is ­­Sept. 21, 2010.

OFCCP enforces Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, 38 U.S.C. 4212. These laws prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating on the bases of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability and veteran status. They also require affirmative action in employment by federal contractors and subcontractors.

News source: Office of Disability Employment Policy, United States Department of Labor

Top of Page