Equal Employment Opportunity: Better Assistance and Data Use Could Improve Oversight of Veterans' Federal Contractor Employment
Fast Facts
The Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act requires some federal contractors to take affirmative action to employ and promote certain veterans—such as those with disabilities and those who served in particular wars.
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs helps contractors comply with the law. For example, it provides information on veteran recruitment. However, it doesn't include key practices such as how to write veteran-friendly job descriptions. It also requires contractors to set veteran-hiring benchmarks but doesn't clearly specify how they should be used. Our 7 recommendations address these and other issues.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) helps contractors comply with affirmative action provisions for veterans protected under the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA). OFCCP provides web-based resources and coordinates with contractors and stakeholders, among other activities. For example, OFCCP provides some information on veteran recruitment, but does not include key practices, such as how to write veteran-friendly job descriptions. VEVRAA regulations require contractors to establish an annual veteran hiring benchmark—generally based on the percentage of veterans in the civilian workforce—to help contractors assess the success of their veteran recruitment efforts. However, information OFCCP provides does not clearly specify how contractors should use this benchmark. Among the sample of 46 contractors GAO reviewed, one-half did not compare their benchmark to new hires. Without key information on best recruiting practices and how to use these hiring benchmarks, contractors may be missing opportunities to expand and improve their veteran outreach efforts.
OFCCP lacks data on the protected veteran population, which may limit its ability to protect veterans' rights under VEVRAA. Officials said they cannot approximate the overall size or characteristics of the protected veteran population. However, survey data used to develop the national VEVRAA hiring benchmark provides some information about veterans likely in protected categories (see figure). Without estimating the size of the protected veteran population, OFCCP cannot effectively assess progress because it cannot determine the availability of protected veterans in the labor force. OFCCP enforces VEVRAA regulations, which prohibit discrimination against protected veterans, through compliance evaluations and complaint investigations. While OFCCP can access contractor data on protected veterans by job category, compliance officers are not required to analyze these data during evaluations. If OFCCP analyzed existing data, it may be better able to identify potential discrimination against these veterans.
Estimated Percentage of Working Age Veterans (25-54) Likely in a Protected Category, 2020
Why GAO Did This Study
To help address challenges veterans may face when seeking employment, VEVRAA requires that certain federal contractors take affirmative action to employ and promote veterans protected under the law. OFCCP is charged with ensuring that the approximately 123,000 federal contractor establishments comply with VEVRAA. GAO was asked to review the implementation and enforcement of VEVRAA. This report examines OFCCP's (1) assistance to help federal contractors comply with VEVRAA requirements, and (2) its enforcement efforts to help ensure federal contractors take steps to recruit and employ protected veterans.
To address these objectives, GAO interviewed agency officials and representatives from 10 stakeholder groups, reviewed guidance documents and enforcement procedures, and analyzed enforcement data and a non-generalizable sample of 46 contractors' affirmative action programs, selected for variation in employer size, industry, and geography.
Recommendations
GAO is making seven recommendations, including that OFCCP incorporate key practices on employing veterans into its VEVRAA information, clarify hiring benchmarks, and use available data to better approximate the protected veteran population and assess discrimination. The agency had no comments on these recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs | The Director of OFCCP should clarify how contractors should use the VEVRAA hiring benchmark, including providing examples of how contractors can use it as a tool to measure progress in hiring protected veterans. (Recommendation 1) |
As of August 2022, OFCCP updated its VEVRAA benchmark webpage to clarify the information provided on related regulations. In November 2022, OFCCP held a roundtable discussion to discuss what compliance assistance would be beneficial to stakeholders. OFCCP is also in the process of updating its sample Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) and other compliance assistance materials to better demonstrate how contractors can use the VEVRAA hiring benchmark as a tool to assess their hiring and recruitment efforts. Additionally, OFCCP is developing a new webpage for veterans and contractors and contractor training that will also have resources on this topic. We will close this recommendation once OFCCP has implemented these updates and provided contractors with information that includes examples of how contractors can use the VEVRAA hiring benchmark as a tool to measure progress in hiring veterans.
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| Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs | The Director of OFCCP should incorporate key practices, such as those identified by other agencies, for employing veterans into its public information on VEVRAA. (Recommendation 2) |
In November 2022, OFCCP held a roundtable discussion to explore how it can provide additional promising practices for employing veterans. The agency is taking several actions derived from that discussion, including to provide access to already existing resources from the Veterans' Employment and Training Service and other federal programs. Additionally, OFCCP is developing new promising practices for inclusion into its Best Practices for Federal Contractors publication. It also plans to include information on apprenticeship programs for veterans on the new VEVRAA webpage that is in development. We will continue to monitor OFCCP's efforts and will consider closing this recommendation when OFCCP has made progress in updating its information resources to incorporate key practices for employing veterans.
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| Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs | The Director of OFCCP should provide information to contractors and workers that encourages self-identification for protected veterans. For example, OFCCP could make a video explaining the benefits of self-identification for protected veterans similar to one it has for individuals with disabilities. (Recommendation 3) |
In November 2022, OFCCP held a roundtable discussion to better understand barriers to self-identification and obtain input on how to address the issues identified. OFCCP is currently in the process of creating several resources to promote self-identification, including promising practices, FAQs, webpage information, and an informational video to help workers and contractors understanding the benefits of self-identification. We will continue to monitor OFCCP's efforts and will consider closing this recommendation once OFCCP has developed and made available information that encourages self-identification for protected veterans.
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| Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs |
Priority Rec.
The Director of OFCCP should use available data to better approximate the size and characteristics of the veteran population protected under VEVRAA. For example, OFCCP could consider how to adjust the data it uses from the CPS Veterans Supplement to approximate the subset of veterans who are protected. (Recommendation 4) |
OFCCP conducted research, consulted with other agencies, and met with subject matter experts to explore whether it would be possible to adjust the CPS Veterans Supplement data the agency currently uses or use other data sources to obtain a better approximation of the number of protected veterans under VEVRAA. However, as of March 2024, OFCCP continued to note limitations to some approaches that may hinder approximating veterans protected under VEVRAA. For example, OFCCP has attempted to obtain relevant personnel data from the Department of Defense (DOD), but OFCCP officials said it has not yet received input from DOD. OFCCP also considered adjusting the hiring benchmark upward but noted that this was not necessary as the current benchmark already overestimates the population. Our recommendation is aimed at better approximating the population protected under VEVRAA, which is a narrower subset of all veterans. We recognize that an estimate will not be as precise as an exact count, nor will it necessarily result in a higher hiring benchmark. In other areas, such as protections for individuals with disabilities, OFCCP relies on estimates for analysis rather than precise data or exact counts of the population. Additionally, we had identified the American Community Survey data as another potential, publicly available source OFCCP could explore, but it is unclear if OFCCP has examined its potential use. To implement this recommendation, OFCCP should continue its efforts to explore options and identify available data that will better approximate the veteran population it is charged with protecting.
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| Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs | The Director of OFCCP should assess the feasibility of using existing data or collecting new data to incorporate into enforcement procedures that would allow OFCCP to assess systemic discrimination against protected veterans. (Recommendation 5) |
In 2020, OFCCP sought to collect data that would have enabled the agency to conduct more in-depth analyses when investigating potential discrimination against protected veterans. OFCCP withdrew this request due to concerns about increased contractor burden. As of August 2023, OFCCP continues to assess the utility of collecting additional personnel data for protected veterans and whether there are any other methods for using existing data to help assess systemic discrimination against protected veterans. We will continue to monitor OFCCP's efforts and will consider closing this recommendation once OFCCP has made substantial progress in this area.
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| Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs | The Director of OFCCP should assess the costs and benefits of adjusting the VEVRAA hiring benchmark to reflect protected veterans who may not be captured in the civilian workforce or who have relatively high unemployment rates, including protected veterans who have significant service-connected disabilities. (Recommendation 6) |
OFCCP has plans to consult with labor economists and subject matter experts to identify different options for improving the VEVRAA hiring benchmark. The agency also plans to conduct listening sessions with key stakeholders to evaluate the costs and benefits of the different options. As of August 2023, OFCCP is still evaluating whether it can adjust the VEVRAA hiring benchmark by using existing data and the associated costs and benefits. We will continue to monitor OFCCP's efforts and will consider closing this recommendation once OFCCP has made substantial progress in this area.
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| Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs | The Director of OFCCP should ensure the reliability of the VEVRAA hiring benchmark data collected in its case management system and use these data to better monitor contractors' hiring benchmarks and equal employment efforts for protected veterans, as well as assess its own VEVRAA compliance assistance efforts. (Recommendation 7) |
During our study, OFCCP was in the process of transitioning to a new case management system. As of August 2023, OFCCP incorporated several controls into the new case management system to ensure the accuracy of VEVRAA hiring benchmark information. This includes requiring completion of a worksheet that includes verifying and recording the benchmark and the percentage of veterans hired. Additionally, OFCCP audits a sample of the data on a quarterly basis to ensure the VEVRAA analysis and benchmark data are complete. OFCCP has made significant progress in ensuring the reliability of VEVRAA hiring benchmark data to assist in its efforts to monitor contractors. We will continue to monitor OFCCP's efforts and will consider closing this recommendation once OFCCP has used the results of its quality assessments to assess the adequacy of its own VEVRAA compliance assistance.
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