OpportunityTitle: Notice of Funding Availability for Section 503 Rehabilitation Act Amendments - Impact on Increasing Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities
Description: This project will examine the implementation and projected effectiveness of the amended Section 503 regulations. The regulations became effective in March 2014 and require federal contractors, amongst other things, to modify their Affirmative Action Program (AAP). The goal of the amended regulation is to give contractors the ability to make informed decisions about the effectiveness of their outreach and recruitment policies and create greater employment opportunities for job seekers with disabilities. This project will examine the phasing in stage of the amended Section 503 regulations. The amended regulations provide a way to gather data over a long term and then use that data to assess and address deficiencies in a contractor&#8217;s AAP. For this study, data collection should be pulled from both contractors and OFCCP. NCD hopes that data collected can be used as a baseline by OFCCP and contractors to measure future compliance. It should be understood that assessing the effectiveness of the amended regulations may be difficult at this early stage. It is important that this report develop recommendations around improving employee self-disclosure rates, to ensure that data collected by OFCCP in the future is an accurate assessment of companies&#8217; compliance with the amended regulations. The report must also discuss OFCCP&#8217;s role in improving contractor compliance, whether that is in the form of technical assistance or enforcement. The final report will include recommendations to improve oversight, education and enforcement of the amended regulation.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: anicholas@ncd.gov
GrantorContactText: Amy Nicholas &lt;br/&gt;Attorney Advisor &lt;br/&gt;Phone 202-272-2008