August 1 is the traditional opening period for filing the EEO-1 survey and the VETS-4212 report. However, as we reported on November 10, 2016, the filing date for the new EEO-1, with its requirements for reporting on compensation, has moved to March 31, 2018. While the fate of the new EEO-1 continues to be uncertain, what is clear is that contractors who were covered by the Vietnam Era Veterans Reemployment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) in calendar year 2016 still need to file a VETS-4212 report by September 30, 2017. As usual, unless the contractor has been granted an exception from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regarding the data collection date, the 2017 VETS-4212 will consist of a workforce snapshot from a pay period ending date between July 1 and August 31, 2017, a new hire report for the 12-month period preceding the snapshot, and identification of the minimum and maximum employee count during the prior 12 months.

The EEOC recognized that with the new EEO-1 data collection and filing dates, after the 2017 VETS-4212 reports are filed, covered federal contractors would lose the efficiency of using one workforce snapshot for both reports. Therefore, starting with reports to be filed in 2018, as part of the new EEO-1 process, the EEOC granted contractors a blanket exception to use a workforce snapshot on December 31^st of the prior year for the VETS-4212 report. At the end of July, the U.S. Department of Labor confirmed that after the September 30, 2017 filing period, the data collection data for the VETS-4212 report can be either December 31 of the calendar year before the report is due or a pay period ending date between July 1 and August 31 of the year the report is to be filed.

Accordingly, federal contractors should make note of the following:

• Contractors (regardless of the number of employees) that held a VEVRAA-covered contract in calendar year 2016 MUST file a VETS-4212 report by September 30, 2017. This report requires that the contractor provide a workforce snapshot from a payroll date between July 1, 2017 and August 31, 2017, as well as report on new hires for the immediately preceding 12 months and identify the maximum and minimum number of employees during that 12-month period. More information about the VETS-4212 report and filing instructions can be found on the Department of Labor’s website
• Contractors should then consider what data set will be used for the 2018 EEO-1 report and VETS-4212 report:
  • The EEO-1 survey allows use of a workforce snapshot taken during any payroll period between October 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017.
  • The VETS-4212 report allows use of a workforce snapshot taken on December 31, 2017 OR on a pay period ending date between July 1, 2018 and August 31, 2018.
• Contractors who must file both the EEO-1 and the VETS-4212 and who elect to use the December 31, 2017 snapshot for both should also pull the new hires from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017, as well as determine their minimum and maximum employee counts for that 12-month period.

For more federal contractor news, see our alert on Google’s current case against the OFCCP