New Labor Laws Will Increase Number of Veterans and People with Disabilities Hired

BRADENTON – There is great news for veterans, disabled veterans and non-veterans with disabilities. Beneficial new rulings on regulations will go into effect on March 24, 2014.

In September of this past year, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (USDOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCCP) Programs published a final rule that makes changes to certain labor laws. For the past 40 years, it has been prohibited to engage in employment discrimination on the basis of veteran status or disability, however, the new rule establishes specific guidelines for federal contractors and subcontractors to recruit, hire, promote and retain veterans and people with disabilities.

The OFCCP provides compliance assistance to federal contractors to help them develop plans, policies and procedures to implement the regulations.

What specifically does this mean for veterans, disabled veterans and those with disabilities?

As a result of the new rulings, many more businesses will be looking to places such as CareerSource Suncoast to help them recruit and hire veterans and people with disabilities. This presents a tremendous opportunity for the workforce system to improve employment outcomes for these veteran and disabled jobseeker populations and provide a valuable service for business customers of workforce offices as well.

This should also lead to an increase in the number of jobs listed by federal contractors and an assurance that special populations are given precedence in being considered for job postings.

Stuart Taube is an Army Veteran who represents Manatee County veterans and disabled veterans at CareerSource Suncoast to improve employment and training outcomes.