On January 20, 2015, the OFCCP published FAQs ( http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/faqs/VEVRAA_faq.htm#Q38 ) addressing what self-identification information contractors are required to solicit from protected veterans during the post-offer stage of the application process. The new VETS-4212 Form that does not require information on the specific protected veteran categories. Therefore, OFCCP decided:
Since the new VETS-4212 report no longer requires contractors to provide this information by the individual protected veteran categories, contractors are not required to invite self-identification by category in order to comply with VEVRAA’s post-offer invitation requirement. Rather, contractors need only invite those offered a job to indicate whether they are protected veterans under any of the VEVRAA categories.
For the pre-offer stage, contractors are not required to invite applicants to self-identify their specific protected veteran categories. There is no change to this requirement.
Until now, the reason for the category-specific data at the post-offer stage was needed to complete the Veterans Employment and Training Services (“VETS”) VETS-100A Form. However, in September 2014, after OFCCP’s veteran regulations had gone into effect, VETS released a new VETS-4212 Form to replace the VETS-100A form. Under the new VETS-4212 form, contractors are only required to report aggregate data on the number of protected veterans rather than the specific categories of protected veterans. On this basis, OFCCP reasoned in the new FAQs that contractors are no longer required to solicit information about the specific categories of protected veterans.