Earlier this week the Department of Labor announced two new final rules to improve the hiring of veterans and people with disabilities. Both rule changes update laws requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to hire veterans and people with disabilities.
The first rule requires contractors to set benchmarks for the hiring of veterans based on the national percentage of veterans in the workforce (currently 8 percent), or an alternate set of data based on Bureau of Labor statistics. It is an update to the 1974 Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act.
The second rule sets a goal for contractors to have 7 percent of their workforce be qualified individuals with disabilities.
The rules won’t become effective until 180 days after they are published in the federal register, and are already being decried as unnecessary by some industry groups. The Associated General Contractors of America call the new rules burdensome, requiring federal contractors to create a lengthy paper trail for work they’re already doing.
For hiring managers recruiting using ClearanceJobs, targeted groups for each service branch as well as wounded warriors are a great way to reach out specifically to qualified, cleared veterans and disabled workers.
