6B02 VEVRAA and Section 503 Allegations

Like Executive Order 11246, complainants filing under Section 503 or VEVRAA may allege employment discrimination, or other violations of the law or its implementing regulations.304 For example, a complainant could allege affirmative action or recordkeeping violations, as well as discrimination under Section 503 or VEVRAA.

a. Complaints filed under VEVRAA. For VEVRAA complaints, OFCCP retains and investigates all complaints over which OFCCP establishes jurisdiction, regardless of whether they are individual or class complaints. Since none of the laws enforced by EEOC include veteran status as a protected basis, VEVRAA complaints are not dual filed with EEOC. However, if a VEVRAA complaint also contains allegations of age discrimination, OFCCP will bifurcate the complaint, retaining the VEVRAA allegations for investigation, and referring the other allegations to EEOC. In another example, if a VEVRAA complaint also contains allegations of individual discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin, OFCCP could decide to bifurcate the complaint, retaining the VEVRAA allegations for investigation, and referring the other allegations to EEOC. OFCCP could also opt to retain all the allegations in the complaint for investigation. Finally, OFCCP generally retains and does not bifurcate VEVRAA complaints that also contain allegations of disability discrimination, so long as the disability allegations fall within the jurisdiction of Section 503.

b. Complaints filed under Section 503. In contrast to VEVRAA complaints, complaints filed under Section 503 often also fall within EEOC’s jurisdiction under Title I of the ADA, as amended and are, thus, dual filed. OFCCP generally retains and investigates all Section 503 complaints over which OFCCP establishes jurisdiction, regardless of whether they are individual or class complaints. OFCCP acts as EEOC’s agent when receiving, investigating and processing complaints that are dual filed under the ADA.

However, OFCCP may choose to bifurcate complaints that allege discrimination based on disability in addition to individual discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin or age. If the decision is to bifurcate the allegations, OFCCP retains and investigates any disability discrimination and Section 503 affirmative action allegations while referring allegations of individual discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin or age to EEOC. If the complaint alleges Section 503 affirmative action violations in addition to systemic discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin, OFCCP would retain the entire complaint and not bifurcate it.

For Section 503 complaints, OFCCP uses legal standards for determining liability, as well as damages and remedies, consistent with those applied under the ADA in determining whether a contractor committed an unlawful employment practice. OFCCP also follows ADA principles when investigating Section 503 discrimination allegations that are not dual filed.