Overview of OFCCP and Section 503: DRS and The Dual Customer A Presentation to the Interagency Committee on Employees with Disabilities ( ICED) Presented by: John Marchioro Trainer- Staff Development Department of Human Services-Division of Rehabilitation

Changes Are Coming More companies are and will be hiring Good for us, but will require planning Bridge the following issues: – OFCCP and Section 503 rule changes – NET and their impact, including TAP – What we can do

OFCCP and Final Rules on Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Who is OFCCP? – Known as The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs – Housed under the Dept. of Labor

OFCCP and Final Rules on Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 What is their main focus – To enforce, for the benefit of job seekers and wage earners, the contractual promise of affirmative action and equal employment opportunity required of those who do business with the Federal government.

OFCCP and Final Rules on Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Who do they govern? – Generally speaking, any business or organization that: (1) holds a single Federal contract, subcontract, or Federally assisted construction contract in excess of $10, or (2) has Federal contracts or subcontracts that combined total in excess of $10, in any 12-month period.

OFCCP and Final Rules on Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 What has been approved? – New rules that strengthen a federal contractor or subcontractors application of Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Section 503), at 41 CFR Part – Changes to these rules have been in the works for approximately 1 ½ years now.

What does Section 503 address? Prohibits employment discrimination against individuals based on disability by federal contractors and subcontractors. Requires that federal contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to recruit, employ, train, and promote qualified individuals with disabilities. This framework articulating contractors’ Section 503 responsibilities has been in place since the 1970’s.

Why Are These Changes Happening Now? The unemployment rate of working age individuals with disabilities is still significantly high The percentage of working age individuals with disabilities that are not in the labor force remain significantly higher versus those without disabilities. Even with the tech advances, still underutilized Ensure that Affirmative Action Plans ( AAP) and are developed and implemented

Section 503 Highlighted Rule Changes 7% utilization goal for individuals with disabilities. – Not a mandate or a ceiling for contractors, but a goal. – Sets a benchmark for contractors to try and reach

Section 503 Highlighted Rule Changes Requires contractors to invite applicants to voluntarily self-identify as an individual with a disability at the pre-offer stage of the hiring process also. – Voluntary self identification after the job offer is already required by OFCCP – Should aid contractors in seeing if their outreach efforts are effective

Section 503 Highlighted Rule Changes Incumbent employees can be offered to self identify throughout the year – Acquired disabilities can happen at any time – Knowledge of this will help capture the utilization goals

Section 503 Highlighted Rule Changes Requirement of application to hire ratios. – Will enable greater accountability for employment decisions and practices. – Will lead to better evaluation by OFCCP and contractors’ of contractor’s outreach and recruitment efforts, and examine hiring and selection processes. – This goes for subcontractors also!!!

What This Means for DRS? Increased opportunities to partner with businesses related to: – Employment – Training - VR Overview, Disability Awareness – Technical Assistance – Work Incentives

What This Means for our Customers More variance in careers- not just entry level More choices geographically More employer “buy in”= better possibility of disability awareness

What This Means for Businesses Opportunities to educate business – Businesses don’t know what they don’t know More opportunities for “value added” partnerships Opportunities to leverage public VR, specifically DRS, to be first point of contact

What Do We Have In Place To Help The NET – Comprised of 80 points of contact representing the 80 public VR programs – Work in a “One Company” approach with each other to meet business footprint – Create repeatable and sustainable partnerhsips with business

What Do We Have In Place To Help Talent Acquisition Portal (TAP) – Centralized database connecting employers and VR customers in an exclusive partnership – CSAVR has the patent rights to this – A huge solution to “self Identification” prior to the job offer. – Just entered into demo stage- DRS to get a turn late September – Access to careers anywhere in the U.S.

VR Staff and Their Partnerships ERS and/or office staff – Value added services – Tours of businesses – Focused conversations from business HR staff – Pre screening based on input from HR staff – Follow through services – Diverse work incentives and supports

John Marchioro Trainer-Staff Development Illinois Point of Contact- The National Employment Team ( NET) DHS-DRS 100 S. Grand Ave. East P.O. Box Springfield, Il Voice