Federal Contractor? Here's How to Stay Ahead of Hiring Compliance
The article explains that federal contractors, regardless of HR staff size, must rigorously comply with regulations like VEVRAA, Section 503, and Affirmative Action Plans (AAP) to document recruitment efforts, prevent discrimination, and meet hiring benchmarks—such as employing 6.4% veterans and 7% individuals with disabilities—in order to remain compliant with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs while capitalizing on the over $515 billion public construction market projected for mid-2025.
Maintaining compliance is part of construction work. Regulations must be followed to keep workers safe and paid correctly, but for those taking on government contracts, the to-do list is much longer. Companies with a small HR department don’t get a break in compliance just because they have less staff.
Federal or federally assisted contractors must document their recruitment approaches to remain compliant with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and report on them when required. There’s a lot of opportunity in government work.
As of mid-2025, the US government is spending more than $515 billion on public construction, according to the US Census. This total includes projects funded by federal, state, and local governments, with state and local entities historically making up the majority of the spending.
To tap into this opportunity, contractors need to understand several key compliance areas.
Understanding Your Compliance Requirements
Some of the different types of compliance federal contractors must adhere to include:
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VEVRAA: The Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act applies to companies that do business with the federal government, specifically federal contractors or subcontractors with a contract amount of $150,000 or more and 50 or more employees. It exists to prohibit employment discrimination against protected veterans. VEVRAA also establishes a hiring benchmark, indicating that 6.4% of the total workforce should be veterans.
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Section 503: This law requires employers to take affirmative action to recruit, hire, promote, and retain individuals with disabilities. It also prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating in employment against these individuals. They are required to track progress toward attaining a workforce that consists of at least seven percent of people with disabilities.
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AAP: A federal contractor or subcontractor with a federal contract exceeding $50,000 with 50 or more employees must also maintain an Affirmative Action Program (AAP). An AAP not only prohibits discrimination in any employment-related activity based on an employee’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, and disability, but federal contractors must also take affirmative action to recruit qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and veterans.
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EEO: Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws are set by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC sets several requirements and guidelines for hiring, including having an EEO tagline in all job ads (“Equal Opportunity Employer, including disabled and veterans.”) The EEOC also requires EEO employers to make good faith recruiting efforts to hire individuals with disabilities, minorities, and veterans.
These requirements are complex, but the right technology can streamline the entire process.
Your Partnership for Hiring Compliance
Mitratech, in partnership with Arcoro, supports federal contractors by providing tools that work with Arcoro’s Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to help effectively source, recruit, and track an inclusive workforce.
The Mitratech and Arcoro partnership helps support hiring compliance by giving you tools to track and record all your efforts while streamlining your processes.
The benefits can be found in:
- Compliance support and audit support to meet federal and state requirements.
- Management of State Job Bank Accounts to minimize administrative burden and maximize transparency.
- Automated outreach to a variety of local organizations to fulfill good faith outreach efforts to all protected groups.
- Real-time data collection and reporting analytics for tracking performance activities, outreach, and state posting obligations.
Ready to simplify your compliance process? Learn more by downloading the PDF describing the partnership between Arcoro and Mitratech Circa.
See a demo of how HR technology can help your construction business.
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