News
Brunini Employment and Labor News - Summer 2008
NEW RULE AFFECTING EMPLOYERS WITH FEDERAL CONTRACTS
Military Veterans -- Mandatory Job Listing Requirements for Employment Opportunities
The Vietnam Era Veteran’s Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) applies to employers that have contracts or subcontracts of $10,000.00 or more with the federal government. VEVRAA prohibits discrimination in employment against special disabled veterans, veterans of the Vietnam era, and other veterans who served on active duty during a war or under certain other conditions. It also requires employers with at least 50 employees and a contract or subcontract of at least $50,000 to prepare affirmative action programs for veterans covered by the Act.
In 2002 VEVRAA was amended by the enactment of the Jobs for Veterans Act of 2002 (“JVA”) to provide protection for veterans who had been discharged or released from active duty within the past three years. The JVA applies to all contracts or subcontracts entered into or modified with the federal government on or after December 1, 2003. As of that date, employers are subject to the nondiscrimination provisions and affirmative action requirements only if they have a contract or subcontract of $100,000 or more.
The question of which law applies depends on when the employer entered into its contract or subcontract with the federal government. Contracts entered into before December 1, 2003 and which were not modified after that date are covered by VEVRAA and its regulations which are found at 41 C.F.R. Part 60-250. Contracts entered into or modified after December 1, 2003 are covered by JVA and its regulations which are found at 41 C.F.R. Part 60-300.
On April 7, 2008 the U. S. Department of Labor issued a final rule with regard to employer obligations under VEVRAA and JVA with regard to mandatory job listing requirements. Employers can satisfy the mandatory listing requirements under both VEVRAA and JVA by listing employment openings with the state workforce agency job bank or the local employment service delivery system will satisfy the mandatory listing requirementsby July 1, 2008
- All Employers in the State of Mississippi must comply with MEPA by July 1, 2011 (possibly as early as January 1, 2011)
- Penalties for violations of MEPA include loss of rights to bid on public contracts for up to three years and/or the loss of business license in Mississippi for up to one year
- MEPA makes it a felony for unauthorized workers (i.e., illegal aliens) to knowingly accept employment in the State of Mississippi
- MEPA potentially creates a private right of action for U.S. citizens whose employers discriminatorily terminate them and retain unauthorized workers (Legislature is considering repealing)
- The "E-Verify" Program is entirely Internet-based and therefore all employers will be required to have some form of access to the Internet by 2010
- All Employers complying with MEPA are required to sign an agreement with the U.S. Government which allows the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to conduct warrantless searches of employer records and information.