OFCCP AAP Requirements for Federal Contractors

OFCCP AAP requirements for federal contractors changed significantly in 2025, but they did not disappear. Contractors that meet the coverage thresholds still must prepare written affirmative action programs under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act (covering individuals with disabilities) and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA, covering protected veterans). The older written AAP built around race, sex, religion, and national origin under Executive Order 11246 no longer applies.

What Changed in 2025

Executive Order 14173, signed January 21, 2025, revoked Executive Order 11246 and directed the Department of Labor to stop holding contractors responsible for race- and sex-based affirmative action or workforce balancing. DOL has halted enforcement of the EO 11246 regulations and proposed formally rescinding the implementing rules at 41 CFR Parts 60-1, 60-2, 60-3, 60-4, and related parts.¹

In practical terms, the race- and sex-based workforce analyses, utilization analyses, and placement goals that formed the core of the old AAP are no longer required. Construction contractors that previously followed the participation goals and timetables under 41 CFR Part 60-4 are also released from those obligations. Title VII and other federal civil rights statutes still prohibit discrimination on the same grounds; the change is in the affirmative planning obligation, not in the underlying nondiscrimination rules.

Section 503 and VEVRAA are separate statutes and were not revoked. OFCCP has confirmed that both laws and their implementing regulations remain in full effect.²

Which Contractors Need a Written AAP

Coverage depends on headcount and contract dollar value. OFCCP updated the jurisdictional thresholds effective October 1, 2025.³

A Section 503 written AAP is required for contractors with 50 or more employees and at least one federal contract of $50,000 or more. The lower nondiscrimination coverage threshold, which triggers anti-discrimination duties but not a written AAP, moved from $15,000 to $20,000.
A VEVRAA written AAP is required for contractors with 50 or more employees and at least one federal contract of $200,000 or more. The dollar figure moved up from $150,000.

Once any single contract or establishment crosses the threshold, the obligation reaches the whole company. A contractor with 200 employees and one qualifying contract must prepare AAPs for all applicable locations, not only the site performing the contract work. Reviewing the contract portfolio after new awards or renewals is the practical way to catch a coverage change early.

What Goes in the Section 503 AAP

The Section 503 program is written for each establishment and focuses on recruiting, hiring, and advancing individuals with disabilities.⁴

OFCCP has set a utilization goal of 7 percent for individuals with disabilities. Contractors with 100 or more employees apply the goal to each job group; contractors with fewer than 100 employees measure it against the entire workforce.⁵ The 7 percent figure is a benchmark, not a quota. When a job group falls below it, the contractor examines its practices for barriers and develops action steps to close the gap.

The written program must also address the physical and mental qualification standards used for each job, confirming they are job-related and consistent with business necessity. It needs documented procedures for reasonable accommodations and a description of how the equal opportunity policy is communicated internally and to outside recruiting sources.

What Goes in the VEVRAA AAP

The VEVRAA program covers four categories of protected veterans: disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, active-duty wartime or campaign badge veterans, and Armed Forces service medal veterans. Coverage begins at 50 employees and a contract of $200,000 or more.³

Each program must include a hiring benchmark. Contractors may adopt the national benchmark published annually by OFCCP, or build a custom benchmark using five data factors tied to their industry and recruitment area. The current national benchmark is 5.1 percent, effective July 30, 2025.⁶ Most contractors use the national figure because the custom calculation requires data that is hard to compile. The benchmark, like the 7 percent Section 503 goal, is a measuring stick rather than a rigid quota.

Structural Components Both Programs Share

Section 503 and VEVRAA programs address different populations but follow the same framework.

Policy Statement and Accountability

Each program opens with a formal equal opportunity policy statement committing the company to nondiscrimination and affirmative action for the covered group. It must name a specific official responsible for day-to-day implementation, usually in human resources or compliance. That person runs internal audits, manages reporting, and keeps the program from becoming a document that only appears during an OFCCP review.

Data Collection and Analysis

Contractors must collect and analyze workforce data. For Section 503, that means comparing the percentage of employees with disabilities in each job group against the 7 percent goal.⁵ For VEVRAA, it means tracking veteran applicants, total applicants, veteran hires, and total hires across job openings, then comparing the results against the chosen benchmark.⁷

Applicant tracking sits at the center of both programs. Contractors keep logs recording the disability and veteran status of every applicant who voluntarily self-identifies on OFCCP’s standardized forms, and that data feeds the analyses that show whether hiring efforts are working.⁸

Action-Oriented Steps

When the data shows a shortfall, the program has to describe concrete steps. That can look like partnering with vocational rehabilitation agencies, attending veteran-focused job fairs, reviewing qualification standards for unnecessary barriers, or training hiring managers on accommodations. Vague commitments do not satisfy the requirement. OFCCP expects specific actions tied to identified gaps.

Recordkeeping

Under Section 503, personnel and employment records must be kept for two years from the date the record was made or the personnel action was taken, whichever is later. Contractors with fewer than 150 employees or a contract below $150,000 have a one-year retention period. Certain records tied to the AAP’s data and analysis must be kept for three years.⁹

VEVRAA mirrors that framework: two years for most personnel records, one year for smaller contractors, and three years for the AAP itself and its supporting documentation.⁷ Retained records include job advertisements, applications, resumes, interview notes, test results, compensation data, promotion records, and termination documentation. Involuntary termination records carry a two-year minimum regardless of contractor size. When OFCCP asks for data during an audit and the contractor cannot produce it, the agency draws unfavorable inferences.

Annual Certification and the Portal

OFCCP launched a Contractor Portal in 2022 as the central place for covered contractors to certify AAP compliance each year.¹⁰ In prior cycles, the certification window ran roughly from late March or April through June or July, during which contractors logged in and confirmed they had developed and maintained their programs.¹¹

Following the revocation of EO 11246, OFCCP announced that the Section 503 and VEVRAA certification period will stay closed while the agency revises its processes and systems.² The closure does not suspend the underlying obligation. Contractors must still develop and update their AAPs on schedule even while the certification tool is unavailable, and should watch OFCCP’s site for reopening announcements.

How OFCCP Audits Compliance

OFCCP selects contractors for compliance evaluations using a neutral process and publishes a Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL) as a courtesy notification. The CSAL is advance warning, not a formal audit notice. A review officially begins when OFCCP sends a Scheduling Letter requesting the AAP and supporting data. Contractors generally have 30 calendar days from receipt to respond, with extensions granted only in extraordinary circumstances.¹²

Evaluations come in three formats:

A compliance review is the most thorough, moving through a desk audit of the AAP and employment data, an onsite review with facility inspections and employee interviews, and, if issues remain, an off-site analysis. Most reviews end at the desk audit stage when the data looks clean.
A compliance check is narrower and looks only at whether recordkeeping obligations have been met. Refusing access can trigger a full compliance review.
A focused review is an onsite evaluation that concentrates on one aspect of the contractor’s practices or one applicable law, with the subject identified ahead of time.

OFCCP can also open evaluations based on complaints from employees or applicants, contract award notifications, or monitoring under existing conciliation agreements.

What Happens When OFCCP Finds a Violation

The process typically opens with conciliation. The agency and the contractor negotiate a written conciliation agreement listing corrective actions, which can include back pay, salary adjustments, retroactive seniority, and job offers to individuals harmed by discriminatory practices.¹³

Back pay liability can reach up to two years before the contractor received its scheduling letter, and interest accrues at the IRS rate for underpayment of taxes, compounded quarterly. OFCCP chooses whether to calculate individual victim-specific relief or use a formula approach that spreads the total harm across the affected group.

If a contractor refuses to correct violations after conciliation, OFCCP can pursue administrative enforcement. A contractor found in violation may have its contracts canceled, terminated, or suspended, and may be debarred from future federal contracting.¹³ Debarment is reserved for serious cases and requires an opportunity for hearing.¹⁴ It is described as a protective measure for the government rather than a punishment, but the effect on a contractor’s business can be severe.

1
Federal Register. Rescission of Executive Order 11246 Implementing Regulations
2
U.S. Department of Labor. Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
3
U.S. DOL Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. Updated Jurisdictional Thresholds for Section 503 and VEVRAA
4
U.S. Department of Labor. Employment Law Guide – Employment Nondiscrimination and Equal Opportunity for Qualified Individuals with Disabilities
5
eCFR. 41 CFR 60-741.45 – Utilization Goals
6
U.S. Department of Labor. VEVRAA Hiring Benchmark
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Understanding OFCCP’s Recordkeeping Requirements – VEVRAA
8
U.S. Department of Labor. Understanding OFCCP’s Internet Applicant and Traditional Applicant Recordkeeping Requirements
9
eCFR. 41 CFR 60-741.80 – Recordkeeping
10
U.S. DOL Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. OFCCP’s Contractor Portal
11
U.S. Department of Labor. US Department of Labor to Open Online Portal April 1 for Federal Contractors to Certify Affirmative Action Program Compliance
12
U.S. Department of Labor. Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL) Frequently Asked Questions
13
Federal Register. Pre-enforcement Notice and Conciliation Procedures
14
Acquisition.GOV. FAR Subpart 9.4 – Debarment, Suspension, and Ineligibility