On April 21, 2015, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced that the Annual National Benchmark for protected veterans was updated to 7 percent, a decrease from the previous benchmark of 7.2 percent. A chart listing the effective dates can be found at: http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/AnnualVEVRAABenchmarkEffectiveDates.htm.
The OFCCP has not released clarification on use of the benchmark with the effective date. The chart released shows that the 7.2 percent benchmark is in effect from 3/24/15 through 4/20/15, and the benchmark of 7 percent is in effect from 4/21/15 until the next update. If, for example, a contractor has an Affirmative Action Plan year that begins on May 1, 2015 and they have chosen to set their hiring benchmark equal to the posted Annual National Benchmark, the OFCCP has not clarified whether the contractor should compare their hires to the 7.2 percent established during the prior year, or the updated rate of 7 percent. Additionally, the chart released shows the effective date of the 7.2 percent beginning on 3/24/2015 while the revised VEVRAA regulations, requiring the use of the benchmark, went into effect on 3/24/2014.
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 Annual National Benchmark for hiring protected veterans.