The Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has updated the national percentage of veterans in the civilian labor force. This is the number that most federal contractors use as their “protected veterans hiring benchmark” under OFCCP’s regulations implementing the nondiscrimination and affirmative action requirements of Section 4212 of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA).
Effective March 31, 2019, the new national percentage is set at 5.9%, down from 6.4% last year. Federal contractors with affirmative action plan (AAP) cycles that begin on or after March 31, 2019, may adopt the revised 5.9% figure as their protected veterans hiring benchmark for their current annual cycle.
A copy of OFCCP’s notice announcing the new benchmark is available online.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.