The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has released a new “EEO is the Law” poster. Supplementing the already required Equal Employment Opportunity poster, the additional posting reflects a number of regulatory changes from the past several years.
- Pay secrecy - Most recently, on September 10, 2015, the OFCCP published its Final Rule implementing Executive Order 13665, Non-Retaliation for Disclosure of Compensation Information. The Executive Order amended section 202 of Executive Order 11246 to prohibit federal contractors from discharging or discriminating against employees or applicants who inquire about, discuss or disclose their pay. It’s scheduled to take effect on January 11, 2016.
- Sexual orientation/gender identity discrimination - Executive Order 13672 went into effect earlier this year, on April 8, 2015. It adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected classes in Executive Order 11246.
- Individuals with disabilities – An amendment to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act protects “qualified individuals with disabilities from discrimination in hiring” and other aspects of employment. It took effect on March 24, 2014.
- Protected veterans – Also effective on March 24, 2014, recruitment was added to the list of items requiring affirmative action under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act. In addition, the term “other protected veterans” was updated to read “active duty wartime or campaign badge veterans.”
The mandatory poster supplement covering these regulatory changes for federal contractors must be displayed with the current EEO poster (with a 2009 revision date). Keep in mind this is a temporary arrangement since the OFCCP has indicated that it’s working with the EEOC to update the existing EEO poster to incorporate this new regulatory information in a single posting. We’ll keep you posted on any developments with this anticipated release.
