DOL Launches Disabled, Veteran Worker Initiatives
The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) on July 24 unveiled two initiatives aimed at promoting the hiring of veterans and protecting the rights of applicants with disabilities: The Good Faith Initiative for Veterans Employment (G-FIVE) and Ensuring the Accessibility of Online Application Systems.
"The G-FIVE was created to address the employment challenges facing the veteran workforce today by recognizing federal contractors for their efforts in employing and advancing covered veterans," said Charles E. James Sr., deputy assistant secretary for OFCCP. "It reaffirms OFCCP's commitment to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act and creates an excellent incentive for federal contractors to hire veterans."
The second initiative, Ensuring the Accessibility of Online Application Systems, is designed to ensure that federal contractors and subcontractors provide equal opportunity to qualified applicants with disabilities, including disabled veterans, to compete for jobs when using an online application system. Electronic job application systems must be accessible to, and usable by, applicants who have disabilities, or the contractor must provide a reasonable accommodation that allows an equal opportunity to compete for a job.
"Nothing is more fundamental to equal employment opportunity than the opportunity to apply for a job," James said. "As more and more employers turn to the Internet to locate and screen job applicants, this initiative is crucial to ensuring that disabled veterans and other qualified individuals with disabilities are afforded that opportunity when an online system is used."
The directives outlining these new initiatives, along with frequently asked questions, are available on OFCCP's Web site at www.dol.gov/esa/ofccp/index.htm.