On September 8, 2014, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) received a request from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) for two modifications to the Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability form. The first change requested would allow the form to be translated into seven more languages in addition to English and Spanish. The second modification would replace the check boxes on the form with a drop down menu and include the question, “Do you have a disability?” preceding the menu.
The OFCCP has yet to clarify how responses to the invitation must be stored. The regulations at 41 CFR 60-741.23(d) state that any information regarding the medical condition or history of an applicant or employee gained while conducting permitted medical examinations and inquiries or inviting employees and applicants to self-identify must be “maintained on separate forms and in separate medical files”. The section of the regulations specifically regarding the Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability form found at 41 CFR 60-741.42(e) require that the contractor, “keep all information on self-identification confidential, and shall maintain it in a data analysis file (rather than in the medical files of individual employees)”. It is unclear whether contractors are expected to maintain a database file containing the responses or if they will need to retain an image copy of the completed form for each employee or applicant. During the most recent National Industry Liaison Group (NILG) national conference, it was unofficially suggested by the OFCCP that contractors retain an image copy of the responses.
Please contact us by calling (732) 446-2529 or sending us an e-mail at glennbarlett@gbcs.net if you are interested in discussing the potential modifications to the invitation.