On March 23, 2014 new federal regulations for Federal
service and supply contractors went into effect. There are two regulations, one
for Individuals with Disabilities (IWD) and one for Veterans. One of the
changes is in the language for contracts with suppliers. Both regulations
require additional EEO language for contracts with suppliers.
Bottom line, there are three ways to post the notice(s) and
meet the regulations:
Post the entire text for each regulation (one for IWD and
one for Veterans).
Post the individual citations (short version) for each
regulation.
Post a combined version (this is the highlighted version
below as drafted by the OFCCP on their web site).
A contractor can determine what version they may choose to site the
regulations.
Below is the exact text placed by the OFCCP on its Question
and Answer web site. This is their example of combining the previous language
covering race, color, religion, sex or national origin with the new language
adding IWDs and Veterans into one statement. This statement can be used to meet
the requirements for all three regulations. Your old language in the
contracts can be replaced with this new language.
Below is the published question followed by the highlighted answer
found on the OFCCP’s web site:
2. Are federal contractors permitted to combine all of the Equal
Opportunity (EO) clauses required by 41 CFR § 60-300.5(a), 41 CFR §
60-741.5(a), and 41 CFR § 60-1.4(a) (or for construction contractors, 41 CFR §
60-4.3(a)) into a single, consolidated “incorporation by reference” clause?
Yes, contractors may combine all of their required EO clauses into
a single "incorporation by reference" clause, provided that the
entire combined clause is set in bold text and the prescribed
content of the veteran and disability EO "incorporation by reference"
clauses is preserved. The following example provides one illustration of how
this might be done for a supply and service contractor:
This contractor and
subcontractor shall abide by the requirements of 41 CFR §§ 60-1.4(a),
60-300.5(a) and 60-741.5(a). These regulations prohibit discrimination against
qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or
individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all
individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Moreover, these regulations require that covered prime contractors and
subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment
individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin,
protected veteran status or disability.