The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) has released its 2020 Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (“VEVRAA”) benchmark.  Effective March 31, 2020, the new benchmark is 5.7%, a slight decrease from 2019’s 5.9% benchmark.  This is OFCCP’s sixth reduction of the benchmark, which has steadily declined since its inception in 2014.

The VEVRAA Benchmark is the figure which federal contractors must use to assess the effectiveness of their outreach programs for the hiring of veterans.  Contractors may either use OFCCP’s national benchmark, or establish their own benchmark using applicable statistics and other metrics set forth in OFCCP’s regulations (41 CFR § 60-300.45(b)(2)).

On a related matter, as previously reported, the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) recently approved VEVRAA focused review scheduling letters.  Therefore, OFCCP will now be able to begin scheduling VEVRAA focused reviews – compliance evaluations focused exclusively on compliance with OFCCP’s VEVRAA regulations – for the 500 contractors who were selected for such reviews in November 2019.