On May 19, 2008, the Department of Labor issued a final rule changing the annual reporting requirements for veterans hiring by federal contractors. The rule was part of the implementing regulations for the Jobs for Veterans Act (”JVA”) (Pub. L. 107-288, 116 Stat. 2033).

Passed in November 2002, the JVA amended the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act by changing the substantive criteria for determining veterans’ eligibility and by changing the procedural mechanism federal contractors must use to comply with the law. The JVA increased the threshold amount for qualifying contracts from $25,000 to $100,000. In addition, the JVA eliminated presumptive coverage of Vietnam-era veterans and expanded coverage to include (1) “veterans who, while serving on active duty in the Armed Forces, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded;” (2) veterans who had been discharged or released from active duty within the past three years; and (3) veterans who were discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

Under the new rule, federal contracts entered into on or after December 1, 2003 will be governed by the new 41 C.F.R. § 61-300.  Contracts entered into after that date worth more than $100,000 will require an annual filing of the new VETS-100A form with the DOL’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (”VETS”).  Older contracts will continue to be subject to the old 41 C.F.R. § 61-250, which requires filing of the VETS-100 form for any contract of $25,000 or more.

VETS acknowledges that the new rule will require some contractors to file both the old and new forms, but asserts that such a result is mandated by the statutory language.  VETS estimates that less than twenty percent of current contractors will have dual filing requirements.

Federal contractors covered by the JVA must file their first VETS-100A annual report by September 30, 2009.  Because the VETS-100A annual report requires federal contractors to collect data for the preceding 12-month period, covered contractors must start compiling information for the newly covered veterans starting October 1, 2008.