OFCCP Extends Comment Period on Its Proposed New Rule

The comment period on the proposed new rule that would set hiring goals for Federal contractors and subcontractors regarding individuals with disabilities has been extended until February 21, 2012.

On December 9, 2011, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) solicited public comments on its proposed rule that will require Federal contractors and subcontractors of having at least 7 percent of their workforce be people with disabilities.  (For more information, see our post on December 13, 2011, below.)

The deadline for submitting comments has been extended from February 7, 2012, until February 21, 2012.  According to OFCCP, if you already commented, you do not need to resubmit your comments.  OFCCP will consider all comments it receives from the publication of the proposed rule through the close of the extended comment period.

Proposed new rule would set a hiring goal for Federal contractors and subcontractors regarding individuals with disabilities

Proposed new rule would set a hiring goal for Federal contractors and subcontractors regarding individuals with disabilities

On December 9, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that will require Federal contractors and subcontractors of having at least 7 percent of their workforce be people with disabilities.

The proposed regulatory changes also details specific actions Federal contractors would have to take in recruiting, training, keeping records, and disseminating policy regarding individuals with disabilities.

The OFCCP invites public comment on the proposal.  Comments are due on or before February 7, 2012.

According to DOL, the proposed rule aims to strengthen the implementing regulations of section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which “requires government contractors and subcontractors to take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment qualified individuals with disabilities.”

For more information on the proposed rule and/or to submit comments, visit

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=OFCCP-2010-0001-0130.

External Factors Influencing Employee Job Satisfaction

External Factors Influencing Employee Job Satisfaction

Based on the Society of Human Resources Management’s (SHRM) 2011 job satisfaction survey, the following are the top 10 factors employees rated “very important” affecting job satisfaction.

Factors	Percent
Job Security	63
Opportunities to use skills and abilities	62
Organization’s financial stability	55
Relationship with immediate supervisor	55
Compensation/pay	54
Communication between employees and senior management	53
Benefits	53
Autonomy and independence	52
Management’s recognition of employee job performance	49
Feeling safe in the work environment	48
Overall corporate culture	46
Flexibility to balance life and work issues	38
Relationships with co-workers	38

 

 

Hiring Programs for Vets signed into Law

Hiring Programs for Vets signed into Law

This is a follow up to our post in August regarding the Administration’s proposed programs to encourage companies to hire military veterans.  The proposals have now come to be.

On November 21, 2011, the VOW to Hire Heroes Act was signed into law (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hr674enr/pdf/BILLS-112hr674enr.pdf).  The act will give tax credits for any business that hires a veteran who has been unemployed for at least 4 weeks.  A company can get an even bigger tax break if it hires a veteran who has been unemployed for at least 6 months.  What is more, a business can get more tax break if the veteran has a disability related to their military service.

The Administration has also launched the Joining Forces initiative to help military veterans find employment after leaving the military.  As part of this initiative, the Administration challenged the private sector employers to hire or train 100,000 unemployed veterans or their spouses by the end of 2013.  Companies that responded to the challenge include Microsoft, Siemens, Honeywell, Humana, JP Morgan, AT&T, Walmart, Accenture, HP, and Lockheed Martin.

A Strategic Plan on How to Build a Globally Competitive Cybersecurity Workforce

On August 11, 2011, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issued a draft strategic plan for the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) program.  NICE is a national campaign to enhance cybersecurity in theUS.  According to NIST, the program “aims to improve secure use and access to digital information in a way that advancesAmerica’s economic prosperity and national security.”

The document is a first strategic plan on how the US can build a globally competitive cybersecurity workforce.  NIST and its interagency partners (DHS and OPM, to name just two) seek comments from the public and organizations concerned with cybersecurity.

One main objective outlined in the plan is to develop a cybersecurity competency framework.  As an emerging career field, cybersecurity lacks a common terminology for career paths, position descriptions, and qualifications, according to NIST.  The competency framework will establish definitions and standards, which are critical in measuring and assessing the performance of the cybersecurity workforce with some degree of consistency.

What the plan states to do:

• Make the standardized functional roles publicly available.
• By 2012, Federal agencies must adopt cybersecurity competency model.
• By 2013, assess the strength of the Federal, state, and local cybersecurity workforce against defined cybersecurity competencies.
• By 2015, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments must adopt common workforce descriptions.
• Federal contractors will also be required, by 2015, to comply with standard cybersecurity workforce descriptions to win government contracts.
• By 2015, assess the capabilities of the private sector cybersecurity workforce against projected market requirements.

The document also includes a plan to look into the professionalization, certification, and licensing standards for the cybersecurity workforce.

You may read the NICE strategic plan by visiting http://go.usa.gov/KFv.  You may submit your comments by using the Comment-Template_Draft-NICE.xls available at http://go.usa.gov/KFw and sending it to nicestratplan@nist.gov.  Comments are due September 12, 2011.

Proposed Hiring Programs for Vets

Proposed Hiring Programs for Vets

President Obama proposed two new programs to help veterans get jobs.  Unemployment rate for post 9/11 veterans—also known as Gulf War-Era II veterans—was 12.4 percent in July 2011, a much higher rate than the national unemployment rate of 9.1 percent.  Unemployment for veterans will likely increase once service members start coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan at the end of the year.  To lower the unemployment rate for these veterans, President Obama proposed two new hiring tax credits that will provide an incentive for companies to hire unemployed veterans.  These new tax credits require Congressional approval before they can be implemented.

The Returning Heroes Tax Credit

• A new tax credit of up to $2,400 for each veteran a company hires who has been unemployed for at least 4 weeks but less than 6 months.
• A new tax credit of up to $4,800 if the veteran has been unemployed for 6 months or more.

The Wounded Warrior Tax Credit

• A new credit of up to $9,600 for companies that hire veterans with service-connected disabilities who have been unemployed for 6 months or more.
• The maximum credit of $4,800 will continue for all other veterans with a service-connected disability.

DOD Launched IT Exchange Program

The Department of Defense recently launched its Information Technology Exchange Program (ITEP) pilot, which will enable DOD and the private sector to share IT employees.  The ITEP pilot is not a 1-for-1 exchange of personnel, but rather an opportunity to share knowledge, experience and skills between sectors.

Assignments will range from three months to a year (it can be extended to a total of one additional year).  DOD is particularly interested in those who are skilled in Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, IT Consolidation, Network Services, IT Project Management, Data Management and Enterprise Architecture.

To be eligible for the program, private sector employees must be a U.S.citizen and hold a security clearance.  For more information about the program, visit http://cio-nii.defense.gov/sites/itep/.

If you’re interested in gaining government experience, DOD has the following detail opportunities:

• Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), Air Force, SAF/A6A (Air Traffic Services), Net-Centric Operations Division,Washington,DC
• Strategic Mobility & Wireless Domain, HQ Army, Office of the Chief Information Officer/G-6, Cyber Directorate, Emerging Technologies Division,Arlington,VA
• Mobility & Wireless Domain, Office of the Department of Defense, Chief Information Officer, Office of Defense-wide Information Assurance Program (DIAP), Arlington, VA
• Cyber Remote Training Development, Office of the Department of Defense, Chief Information Officer, Office of Defense-wide Information Assurance Program (DIAP), Fort Meade, MD or Quantico, VA
• IT Project Management, Visual Information Services Branch, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA),Fort Meade,MD
• Cloud Computing, Department of Defense, Chief Information Officer, Office of theEnterpriseServices and Integration,Arlington,VA
• Cyber Policy, Office of Cyber Policy, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy,Arlington,VA
• IT Project Management-Data Management, DOD Comptroller, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Business Integration Office,Washington,DC

You can find more information about these exchange opportunities at:  http://cio-nii.defense.gov/sites/itep/opp.htm.

If none of these opportunities interest you, but are interested in participating in the pilot, send an email expressing your interest to askitep@osd.mil.