prepare now for §4212: improving employment outcomes for veterans
TRANSCRIPT
Improving Employment Outcomes for Veterans
Today’s Objectives and Learning Outcomes:
1. Learn About DirectEmployers Association
2. Highlights of the Proposed §4212 Regulations
3. Conduct a Gap Analysis NOW to Assess Internal Readiness for Increased
Regulatory Compliance Requirements
4. Develop a Strategy to Address Gaps & Ensure Preparedness
5. Research Veteran Best Practices by Other Successful Employers
6. Receive Additional Resources for Recruiting & Retaining Veterans
Who is DirectEmployers Association?
DirectEmployers Association is a nonprofit HR consortium of leading global
employers formed to improve labor market efficiency through the sharing
of best practices, research and the development of technology.
600+ Member Companies – Over 90% Represent Fortune 500 & Fortune 1000
17 Board Members – Member Companies
Mission
To provide employers an employment network that is cost-effective,
improves labor market efficiency, and reaches an ethnically diverse
national and international workforce.
Definitional Changes
Workforce Composition Goals / Benchmarks
Self-identification Early & Often
Outreach, Outreach, Outreach
New Reasonable Accommodation Process
Data Collection, Analysis & Recordkeeping
Transparency and Accountability
Training
Annual Report
Priority Consideration
Definitional Changes
► Covered veteran >>> “protected veteran”
Includes special disabled, Vietnam-era, recently
separated and active duty wartime or campaign
badge veterans
►Vets 100/100A categories not changed
VETS 100 categories
(1) Special disabled veterans;
(2) Veterans of the Vietnam era;
(3) Veterans who served on active duty in the U.S.
military during a war on in campaign or expedition
for which a campaign badge has been authorized; and
(4) Recently separated veterans (veterans within one
year from discharge or release from active duty).
VETS 100A categories
1)Disabled veterans;
2) Veterans who served on active duty in the U.S.
military during a war or campaign or expedition
for which a campaign badge is awarded;
3) Veterans who, while serving on active duty in
the Armed Forces, participated in a United States
military operation for which an Armed Forces
service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive
Order 12985; and
4) Recently separated veterans (veterans within 36
months from discharge or release from active
duty).
Workforce Composition Goals / Benchmarks Goal established by contractor considering:
►% vets in civilian labor force
►# vets who participated in ESDS/Department of Veterans’
Employment & Training Service
► referral, applicant & hiring ratios
► effectiveness of contractor's external outreach & recruitment
efforts
►any other factors affecting availability of qualified protected
veterans
Self-identification Early & Often
► Pre-offer
Contractor to invite all applicants to self id as protected
veteran based on description provided by OFCCP
► Post offer/pre-employment
Contractor to invite all offerees to self id as special disabled,
Vietnam era, recently separated veterans, active duty wartime
or campaign badge veterans based on language provided by
OFCCP
Outreach, Outreach, Outreach Must provide job vacancy information to the appropriate ESDS “in
the manner required by the service”
►provide notice that federal contractor, contact information of
hiring official and request for priority referrals of veterans
Must provide information re: staffing or temp agencies used
►Cannot rely on 3rd party to do it correctly
►Linkage agreements
►Local Vets Rep
►National Resource Directory
►One more from list
New Reasonable Accommodation Process Rationale for rejections and information regarding
accommodations:
► Written reasons for each decision to reject for hire, promotion
or training
►Description of accommodations
• considered for rejection
• provided for disabled vets selected for hire,
promotion or training
Must seek advice of applicants regarding accommodations, when
applicable
If undue hardship, disabled vet may cover cost of the
accommodation
Data Collection, Analysis & Recordkeeping Must prepare quantitative measurements & comparisons for vets
annually and maintain them for 5 years:
►priority referrals of vets /all referrals from ESDS
►applicant ratio: vet apps/ total applicants
►hiring ratio: vet hires / total hires
►job fill ratio of openings to filled openings
Primary indicator of effectiveness—whether qualified vets
hired
Must review personnel processes annually including physical and
mental job qualification standards
For “direct threat” – a statement of the reasons supporting the
belief of the direct threat
Transparency and Accountability EO Clause verbatim in subcontracts & purchase orders
► Very long; impractical
Retain records for 5 years
Send written notification of AA policies & efforts to
subcontractors, including vendors & suppliers, to request
compliance by them
ID official responsible for contractor’s affirmative action activities
on ALL internal and external communications re: affirmative
action
CEO must publicly & personally support contractor’s affirmative
action obligations
Post notice for employees working offsite
Training
Must hold annual meetings with employees to discuss affirmative
action policies and explain responsibilities
Must provide ADDITIONAL training to all personnel involved in the
recruitment, screening, selection, promotion, disciplinary, and
related processes on
► The benefits of employing veterans
► Appropriate sensitivity toward applicants, and
► The legal responsibilities of contractor and its agents
regarding veterans
Must record attendance and training provider and maintain 5
years
Annual Report & Priority Consideration
Still required to submit VETS 100/100A
• Local employment service offices already give priority
referral to protected veterans for jobs listed by a
Federal contractor
• OFCCP will now expect/ measure hiring from priority
referrals
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS SPECIFIC TO HIRING VETERANS
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Section 4212 (VEVRAA) – released April 2011
• RESOURCES:
For a copy of the Proposed Regulations as published in the Federal Register, go to:
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2011/pdf/2011-8693.pdf
Proposed Regulations by OFCCP Seek to Advance Employment Protections for Veterans
http://www.directemployers.org/2011/06/07/proposed-regulations-by-ofccp-seek-to-
advance-employment-protections-for-veterans/
DirectEmployers Association Responds to OFCCP’s Proposed Regulations for Veterans
http://www.directemployers.org/2011/07/22/directemployers-association-responds/
This blog post includes links to the comment letters from both DirectEmployers
Association and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies. View other
comment letters at www.regulations.gov
After much discussion last year that the veterans
regulations would be issued before the election, OFCCP
has still not submitted the proposed regulations to OMB
for approval.
► Nevertheless, the DOL regulatory review still states
the final Section 503 and VEVRRA regulations are to be
issued in April 2013.
► It is unlikely the final Section 4212 regulations will
be issued in April 2013 but may be issued before the
end of FY 2013.
Assess Internal Readiness – Are You Prepared?
• OFCCP has not traditionally given contractors much lead time to
prepare when final regulations are issued
How prepared is your company to meet all the requirements as
proposed in the regulations?
Is your company doing more than merely posting open positions?
What can you start to do NOW in anticipation of the final rule?
• Start with an internal meeting — include HR Compliance Experts,
Recruiters, Legal, Labor Relations, Supply, Training, and Health
Services/Medical Departments — to begin the internal education
process ASAP regarding the proposed §4212 and §503 requirements
§4212 Assess Internal Readiness – Are You Prepared?
• Start your Gap Analysis by reviewing page 23388 of the Federal Register:
§503 Assess Internal Readiness – Are You Prepared?
• Start your Gap Analysis by reviewing page 77082 of the Federal Register:
Assess Internal Readiness – Are You Prepared?
• Develop a spreadsheet listing each requirement from pages 23388* and
77082* of the Federal Registers, and add these sections/columns:
Regulatory Requirements as Listed in Federal Register
Burden Description
Section of the Proposed Regulation
Similar Requirement in §4212 as in the §503 Proposed Regs (Yes or No) / Briefly Explain
Internal Assessment of Current Preparedness
Company Currently Meets Full Requirement
Company Meets Only Part of the Full Requirement (Explain)
Company’s Existing Process Does Not Meet Requirement At All
Requirements, Policies, Processes, Procedures, Training and/or Technology Needed to Close
the Gap Would Include (Explain)
Solution to Meet Compliance is Easy Fix, Challenging Fix, or Not Applicable
Estimated Time, Headcount and/or Labor Hours Needed To Meet Full Requirements
Estimated Cost To Meet Full Requirements
Action Plan
Desired or Targeted Completion Date
Priority Level
Assigned To / Owner
Comments and Additional Notes
*These pages of the Federal Register are a good place to start in assessing the regulatory requirements. However, be sure to assess
all detailed requirements of the regulations, as these lists are not all inclusive.
The Compliance Team
§4212 and §503
• Reviewed the regulatory changes
• Identified existing state of compliance
• Gap analysis
• Owners
• Created project proposal summaries
• Projected time frame for implementation
Presented findings to the HR leadership team
• Summary of changes
• Duplication of requirements
Held a meeting with HR partners for review of proposed regulations
• Staffing Team
• Compensation Team
• Training
• IT
Projected cost of implementation in 2013 budget
Current focus is on current regulations
Develop a Strategy to Address Gaps & Ensure Preparedness
What low-risk actions can you begin to implement NOW?
• Begin to identify veteran and disability partners and providers who can
refer veterans and disabled candidates to your organization that meet
the knowledge, skills, education and experience requirements for your
job types:
Establish a relationship and introduce your organization
Share information about your company and job opportunities
Identify potential partner activities with each partner or provider
Develop draft linkage agreement templates based on partner services (see Pipeline)
Veteran Partner Sources:
Go to the Member Pipeline (voice.directemployers.org) and click on Resources and then
Webinars and search for the session, Veteran Outreach: Partnering at the Local Level.
Click on additional resources and download the 33-page guide, Veteran Outreach and
Partnership Sources, for Employers. You’ll also find a Sample Linkage Agreement with a
Veteran Partner as well.
Develop a Strategy to Address Gaps & Ensure Preparedness
What low-risk actions can you begin to implement NOW?
• Identify a sound solution to meet the mandatory jobs listings
requirements with the nearest employment service delivery system:
DirectEmployers offers a service called Direct Compliance
http://www.directemployers.org/products-services/direct-compliance/
Develop a Strategy to Address Gaps & Ensure Preparedness
What low-risk actions can you begin to implement NOW?
Learn more about Direct Syndication http://www.directemployers.org/products-services/direct-syndication/
See all sites in the Direct Syndication Network http://images.directemployers.com/deorg/syndication/JobAlliancesList.pdf
Military Network Sites CASY/National Guard Employment Program http://casy.msccn.org/Employers/DirectEmployers_Job_Board.html
Honor Guard Network http://www.honorguardnetwork.org/Jobs/DirectJobsDatabase.aspx
Military Spouse Corporate Career Network
(MSCCN)
http://www.msccn.org/Employers/DirectEmployers_Job_Board.html
Milicruit http://milicruit.jobs
(DE members’ jobs will display on this site if they are active with an Milicruit event)
My Next Move for Veterans – U.S. DOL/ETA http://www.mynextmove.org/vets/find/browse?c=0
Access ‘Job Outlook’ and ‘Find Jobs’
NYWorks Veterans (New York State Workforce) http://nyworks-veterans.jobs/
RecruitMilitary http://recruitmilitary.com/
Save Our Veterans http://board.jobcentral.com/saveourveterans
SDWorks Veterans (South Dakota State
Workforce)
http://sdworks-veterans.jobs/
USA Cares http://jobs.usacares.org/
VetSuccess.gov – U.S. Dept. of Veteran Affairs http://vetsuccess.gov/jobs
VetCentral /Local Veteran Employment
Representatives & Disabled Veteran Outreach
Program Representatives (LVERS & DVOP’s)
Jobs are emailed by geographic location, consult your OFCCP Compliance
Reporting Tool in your Member Desktop
Jobs also appear on VetCentral search engine
http://vetcentral.us.jobs/vet_index.asp?stype=moc
US.jobs Veterans http://veterans.jobs
Veteran's Enterprise http://www.veteransenterprise.com/index.php/career-opportunities
WorkInIowa Veterans (Iowa State Workforce) http://workiniowa-veterans.jobs
WorkInOregon Veterans (Oregon State
Workforce)
http://workinoregon-veterans.jobs/
WorkInTexas Veterans (Texas State Workforce) http://workintexas-veterans.job
http://att-veterans.jobs
Highly Search Engine Optimized
Dynamic Footprint
Custom faceted
Analytics Equipped
Easy to add creative
Social-Sharing
Search Technology
Develop a Strategy to Address Gaps & Ensure Preparedness
What low-risk actions can you begin to implement NOW?
• Establish an applicant referral source tracking process to identify, track
and measure sources of applicants and hires:
http://www.directemployers.org/products-services/direct-traffic/
Develop a Strategy to Address Gaps & Ensure Preparedness
What low-risk actions can you begin to implement NOW?
Tracking Source to Hire – DirectEmployers Can Help!
How do I get started?
1. Check with your ATS provider to see if they support Source Coding.
2. Find out if your website partners (e.g., the various job boards where your
company posts its job openings) will accept your company’s job postings
through the DirectEmployers’ Feeds.
3. Find out if your website partner has a DirectEmployers View Source.
Guidance:
1. Implement DirectEmployers Source Code with your ATS.
2. Move appropriate website partners to your DirectEmployers Feed.
3. Have ATS provider create individual Website Partner-Specific Source
Codes for the DE partner sites (e.g. sites in the syndication network) you
would like to track.
4. Connect your website partners with DirectEmployers to acquire a View
Source. Your DE Membership Development Specialist can help!
Call 866-268-6206.
ATS = Applicant Tracking System
Develop a Strategy to Address Gaps & Ensure Preparedness
What low-risk actions can you begin to implement NOW?
• Review your applicant disposition codes and definitions:
Track non-hired, but qualified veteran and disabled applicants, for potential
consideration for future job opportunities
• Develop a process to evaluate the physical and mental requirements of
the job description for each open/posted job vacancy.
• Examine your applicant tracking system (ATS) and determine how your
organization might solicit, track and store both the veteran and
disability status of applicants and hires, how you will disposition
rejected veteran and disabled candidates with an appropriate
explanation that accompanies their rejection record, how this
information will be separated and shielded from recruiters/decision
makers, and how privacy of confidential medical information received as
part of the process will be maintained.
Develop a Strategy to Address Gaps & Ensure Preparedness
What low-risk actions can you begin to implement NOW?
• Review the required contents of affirmative action programs for §4212 in
60-250.44 and 60-300.44 and for §503 in §60-741.44, and include these
requirements as part of your Gap Analysis spreadsheet to identify what
is currently being done internally and what may become mandatory in
the future.
• Add to the Gap Analysis spreadsheet all the requirements for the
reasonable accommodation process and compare your existing process
against the proposed regulations:
If your current accommodation process is decentralized, consider how centralizing
parts of the process may streamline and simplify the tracking and recordkeeping
requirements.
Research Veteran Practices of Leading Companies
Who is leading the way? What ideas might work for your company?
Leading Practices on Hiring Veterans
GI Jobs Top 100 Military Friendly Employers
http://www.gijobs.com/2012Top100.aspx
Companies Honored for Vet-Friendly Practices
http://www.shrm.org/publications/hrnews/pages/vet-friendly-workplaces.aspx
Best Practices for Hiring Veterans with Disabilities
National Organization on Disability
http://nod.org/for_business_leaders/employment_best_practices/
© 2011 DirectEmployers Association, a nonprofit
consortium of leading global employers
Nita Beecher
Jolene Jefferies