Rule would streamline contractor compliance checks

Checking up on federal contractors to make sure that they are complying with laws that prohibit discrimination would be easier under a proposed rule introduced in the Federal Register Thursday.

Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires federal contractors and subcontractors with contracts greater than $10,000 to take affirimative action to employ people with disabilities. The Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) enforces the mandate through "compliance reviews," which consist of desk audits, on-site reviews and more, if necessary.

But two other mandates that regulate employment of people with disabilities, Executive Order 11246 and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, spell out other methods of reviewing contractors' compliance with non-discrimination laws.

"Today's proposal would ensure that the agency could use parallel procedures to simultaneously evaluate contractor compliance under all three laws," the proposed rule stated.

Among the changes, the rule would remove the requirement that OFCCP visit a contractor's site during a compliance check. Instead, reviewing appropriate records off-site would be considered sufficient.

Adopting new methods of compliance checks will "further improve efficiency and permit the agency to better target its resources," the rule stated.

Comments on the proposed rule are due on or before December 11. Comments can be directed to: