The Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has updated its annual Vets Hiring Benchmark to 5.2%. The annual benchmark represents the national percentage of veterans in the civilian labor force. Most federal contractors use it to measure whether their hiring of protected veterans complies with OFCCP’s affirmative action regulations under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA).
The revised benchmark, which took effect March 31, 2024, can be used for new affirmative action plan (AAP) annual cycles that begin on or after that date. OFCCP does not provide guidance as to whether a contractor can or should reset the benchmark for annual AAP cycles that began on an earlier date, usually calendar year AAPs.
The new figure is down slightly from the 2023 benchmark of 5.4% and continues the downward trend that has occurred every year since OFCCP established the benchmark in 2014, when it was set at 7.2%.
More information about the Vets Hiring Benchmark is available on OFCCP’s VEVRAA Hiring Benchmark website.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.