The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the form that federal contractors, including healthcare providers the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) considers contractors based on their TRICARE participation, will be required to use to solicit information from applicants and employees regarding their status as an individual with a disability.  Contractors must use this form exactly as published by OFCCP. 

Employers should not begin using this form prior to March 24, 2014 and, in most instances, will not begin using the form until the beginning of their next affirmative action plan cycle commencing after March 24.  For example, a contractor with a calendar year plan would start using the new form on January 1, 2015.  A contractor with a plan that commences each year on April 1, however, must  comply with the new requirements on April 1, 2014.

The impetus for this revised form is new affirmative action regulations the OFCCP finalized in September 2013. These regulations have a March 24, 2014 effective date. 

Now that OFCCP’s required format for the disability form has been finalized, contractors may want to consider how they will integrate this form with their existing forms for soliciting information on race, sex, and veteran status.

Littler’s OFCCP practice group will be publishing additional materials in the coming weeks and months to assist contractors in implementing OFCCP’s new regulations.