FDB82B2E-0120-4772-9358-982607BAC5B5

Overview

  • The 2022 Annual Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) national hiring benchmark was recently updated on the VEVRAA Hiring Benchmark Database.
  • Component 1 EEO-1 reports are due May 17, 2022. The Redstone GCI HR team can support you with preparing and filing your EEO-1 report. Please contact us today if you are in need of assistance.
  • Covered federal contractors must certify their Affirmative Action Plans (AAP) through the OFCCP Contractor Portal by June 30, 2022. Please contact our HR Team if you need assistance with your AAP or the certification process.
  • The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs issued a new directive (DIR 2022-02) that is intended to promote effective enforcement of the equal employment opportunity laws that the agency enforces.
  • The Department of Homeland Security has announced updates regarding the I-9 form and its verification Beginning May 1, 2022, DHS will no longer allow employers to accept expired List B Documents for form I-9 verification. If an employee presented an expired List B document between May 1, 2020, and April 30, 2022, employers are required to update their I-9 forms by July 31, 2022. DHS has provided a helpful table that explains the updated requirements.
  • The current version of the I-9 form expires on October 1, 2022. DHS plans to “re-vamp” the form with several goals in mind:
    • Compressing Sections 1 and 2 from two pages to one page to reduce paper use.
    • Moving Section 3 to a separate Reverification and Rehire Supplement.
    • Updating the List of Acceptable Documents to include a link to List C documents (on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website) issued by DHS.
    • Reducing and simplifying the form's instructions from 15 pages to 7 pages.
    • Removing electronic PDF enhancements to ensure that the form can be completed on all electronic devices. 
  • It is expected that the US Department of Labor (DOL) will publish a proposed overtime rule in the very near future.
  • An Appeals Court recently upheld a COVID-19 Vaccination Directive that requires federal workers to be vaccinated.
  • EEOC leaders recently discussed four areas that they aim to focus on in 2022. These areas include:
    • COVID-19 Mandates
    • Diversity and Tech
    • DEI Demographics Audits
    • Disability Rights
  • The EEOC recently released a technical assistance document regarding Caregiver Discrimination due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Details:

  • The 2022 Annual Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) national hiring benchmark was recently updated on the VEVRAA Hiring Benchmark Database.
    • The new hiring benchmark is 5.5%.
  • Component 1 EEO-1 reports are due May 17, 2022. The Redstone GCI HR team can support you with preparing and filing your EEO-1 report. Please contact us today if you are in need of assistance.
  • Covered federal contractors must certify their Affirmative Action Plans (AAP) through the OFCCP Contractor Portal by June 30, 2022. Please contact our HR Team if you need assistance with your AAP or the certification process.
  • The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs issued a new directive (DIR 2022-02) that is intended to promote effective enforcement of the equal employment opportunity laws that the agency enforces.
    • The new directive rescinds and replaces DIR-2018-06, DIR 2018-08, DIR 2020-02, and DIR 2021-02.
    • The directive will strengthen OFCCP compliance evaluations and reduce delay by promoting the timely exchange of information. In addition, the directive explains updated agency policies regarding the scheduling of contractors for compliance evaluations, including enhancing the agency’s neutral scheduling procedures to reach a broader universe of federal contractors, and eliminating delays in scheduling. The directive also describes contractors’ obligations regarding timely submission of Affirmative Action Programs (AAPs) and support data, supplemental information, and access to employees, applicants, and other
  • The Department of Homeland Security has announced updates regarding the I-9 form and its verification Beginning May 1, 2022, DHS will no longer allow employers to accept expired List B Documents for form I-9 verification. If an employee presented an expired List B document between May 1, 2020, and April 30, 2022, employers are required to update their I-9 forms by July 31, 2022. DHS has provided a helpful table that explains the updated requirements.
    • Employers may continue remote verification through April 30, 2022. In late 2021, DHS asked for public comments regarding implementing remote verification permanently. Stay tuned for announcements regarding remote verification.
  • The current version of the I-9 form expires on October 1, 2022. DHS plans to “re-vamp” the form with several goals in mind:
    • Compressing Sections 1 and 2 from two pages to one page to reduce paper use.
    • Moving Section 3 to a separate Reverification and Rehire Supplement.
    • Updating the List of Acceptable Documents to include a link to List C documents (on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website) issued by DHS.
    • Reducing and simplifying the form's instructions from 15 pages to 7 pages.
    • Removing electronic PDF enhancements to ensure that the form can be completed on all electronic devices. 
    • DHS is now accepting public comments regarding the form update through May 31, 2022.
  • It is expected that the US Department of Labor (DOL) will publish a proposed overtime rule in the very near future.
    • Employment law attorneys speculate that the rule could be proposed as early as next month. They also anticipate that the DOL will recommend higher salary level thresholds for the white-collar exemptions to the rule. If this speculation is true, more employees will be eligible for overtime pay. Stay tuned for updates on this potential new rule.
Learn More About Our  Human Resources Consulting Services

Written by Info RedstoneGCI

About Redstone GCI

Redstone GCI is a consulting firm focused on fulfilling the needs of government contractors in all areas of compliance. With a singular mission to help contractors through the multiple layers of “red tape,” we allow contractors to focus on what they do best – support their mission with the U.S. Government. We are home to a group of consultants made up of GovCon industry professionals, CPAs, attorneys, and retired government audit and acquisition professionals.

Our focus and knowledge of audit and compliance functions administered by DCAA and DCMA will always be at the heart of what we do. However, for the past decade, we’ve strategically grown to support other areas of the government contractor back-office with that same level of focus and expertise. We’ve added expertise in contracts management, subcontract administration, proposal pricing, various software systems, HR and employment law, property administration, manufacturing, data analytics/reporting, Grant specialists, M&A, and many other areas. When we see a trend in the needs of contractors, we act to ensure we can provide the best expertise in the market to fulfill those needs.

One thing our clients can be certain of is that with the Redstone GCI Team in your corner, there is no problem too big and no issue too technical for our team to tackle.

Topics: HR Huddle