Effective September 21, 2026, a final rule adopted by the United States Department of Labor (DOL)’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) will eliminate several compliance requirements under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 503). This follows a pattern of recent final rules issued by the OFCCP signaling the dismantling of protections afforded to minorities, women, and now, individuals with disabilities.
Here are what federal contractors should note come Monday, September 21.
Self-Identification for Individuals with Disabilities Is No Longer Required
Federal contractors will no longer be required to invite applicants and employees to self-identify their disability status. Additionally, the Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability Form (CC-305) that has long been used and required by the OFCCP for contractors to distribute to their applicants and employees to self-identify, will be formally discontinued. The OFCCP’s rationale here was that employer-initiated disability inquiries conflict with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and that asking an applicant or employee to disclose disability information was contrary to the tenants of the ADA.
Takeaway: Federal contractors should remove Form CC-305 from their application packages and employee paperwork and should no longer require that applicants or employees self-identify their disability status.
OFCCP’s 7% Utilization Goal for Individuals with Disabilities is Eliminated
The OFCCP’s long-standing goal that individuals with disabilities comprise at least 7% of each job group within a federal contractor’s workforce is no longer required. As part of this rescission, the requirement to conduct an annual utilization analysis and develop action-oriented programs based on attainment of the goal, will also be eliminated. The OFCCP’s thought process seems to be that, since Form CC-305 was intended to collect data for the purpose of measuring progress towards the 7% utilization goal, by eliminating Form CC-305, the utilization analysis also becomes obsolete.
Takeaway: Federal contractors should no longer conduct a utilization analysis related to individuals with disabilities with the purpose of determining if they have hit the 7% utilization goal.
Related Data Collection Requirements Are Removed
The final rule also eliminates Section 503’s data collection requirements, which requires federal contractors to document and maintain data regarding the total number of applicants who self-identified as individuals with disabilities and the total number of applicants hired, among other data points. Again, the OFCCP’s rationale was that the elimination of Form CC-305 effectively removed the need to collect this data.
Takeaway: Federal contractors should no longer document, collect, and maintain the following data:
- The number of applicants who self-identified as individuals with disabilities;
- The total number of job openings and jobs filled;
- The total number of applicants;
- The number of applicants with disabilities hired; and
- The total number of applicants hired.
What Are Federal Contractors Required to Do?
While the above-noted changes will be effective on September 21, the remaining obligations under Section 503 will continue to be administered. These include federal contractors’ obligations – if they have a federal contract of $20,000 or more – to ensure they are not discriminating against employees or applicants because of their disability status, that they are complying with general Section 503 recordkeeping requirements, and for those federal contractors with 50 or more employees and a federal contract of $50,000 or more – that they are developing and maintaining Affirmative Action Programs (AAPs). Of course, AAPs should now be updated to remove utilization analyses, any data points as noted above, and/or any Form CC-305-derived data.
It is also important to note that these changes do not affect any of the requirements under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (“VEVRAA”), so federal contractors are still required to ensure self-identification of veteran status is still being conducted. Moreover, these federal rule changes do not affect any state/locality-specific requirements that federal contractors may have, including state or local laws requiring independent disability data reporting requirements. If you are a federal contractor operating at the state/local level, any independent obligations should still be complied with.
Should you have any questions or would like legal assistance in complying with both the federal and state/local-level requirements, please contact the author, Sara N. Strosser, or any other member of PilieroMazza’s Labor & Employment Group.
