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The Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) April 21 updated its Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) Benchmark Database to reflect a new 7 percent annual national benchmark for federal contractor hiring of protected veterans, which is a slight decrease from the previous 7.2 percent. 

Under final VEVRAA regulations that went into effect in March 2014, federal contractors are allowed to establish a hiring benchmark for veterans based on “the current national percentage of veterans in the workforce,” which was adjusted to 7 percent based on 2014 end-of-year data.

Contractors also can choose to set up an individual benchmark based on a "five-factor method."

• Factor 1: The average percentage of veterans in the civilian labor force for the state where the establishment is located for the previous three years. 
• Factor 2: The number of veterans who participated in the employment service delivery system in the state where the establishment is located over the previous four quarters. 
• Factor 3: The applicant ratio and hiring ratio for the establishment for the previous year. 
• Factor 4: The most recent assessment of the effectiveness of outreach and recruitment efforts. 
• Factor 5: Any other factor, such as the nature of the job openings or the facility’s location that would tend to affect the availability of qualified protected veterans.

More information and access to the database is available at www.dol-esa.gov/errd/VEVRAA.