The
DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has issued a
proposed rule that would be forced on federal contractors and subcontractors,
and would effectively require seven percent of their workforces be comprised of
people with disabilities. This rule would also apply to subcontractors, and
failure to meet the requirement could result in the forfeiture of government
contracts.
Regarding
his legislation, Alexander said, “This
proposed rule has created a wave of anxiety among those in the federal
contracting community, many of whom are facing severe budget cuts and are
struggling to retain current employees on their payrolls. Federal contractors
are wondering how they will know if they are in compliance with the rule since
it is against the law for them to ask if an employee is disabled; they are also
unsure if they will be required to lay off non-disabled employees and replace
them with people with disabilities in order to satisfy the rule’s requirement.
“Remarkably, it does not appear that DOL is in compliance with the regulations it is attempting to impose on federal contractors.
“This legislation does not prevent DOL from
implementing this rule; instead, it simply says that DOL cannot impose this
rule on federal contractors unless it first certifies to Congress that each
office and division within DOL is in compliance with the rule’s requirements.
“I appreciate the Department of Labor’s devotion to
ensuring Americans with disabilities are sufficiently represented in the
workplace. But when it comes to hiring, I believe our government needs to set
the standard—not lead from behind. We should not be asking others to meet goals
we ourselves our unwilling or unable to achieve.”
This information is intended to be
educational and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter.
