The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published a final rule revising the regulations implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Section 503) at 41 CFR Part 60-741, on September 24, 2013. The updated regulations became effective on March 24, 2014.
Additional information about Section 503 regulations is provided in the frequently asked questions (FAQs) below.
Notice
On July 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor published the Notice of Proposed Rule Making, “Modifications to the Regulations Implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as Amended,” in the Federal Register.
Overview of the Section 503 Regulations
- Do the Section 503 regulations permit my company to incorporate the equal opportunity clause into subcontracts by reference?
- Can a contractor satisfy its obligation to post a notice informing applicants and employees of their equal employment opportunity rights by posting the notice electronically?
- How frequently must contractors conduct a review of physical and mental job qualification standards under the Section 503 regulations?
- Do the Section 503 regulations require the use of mandatory job listings?
- Do the Section 503 regulations require that contractors document the design and implementation of an audit and reporting system for their affirmative action program?
- What documentation requirements apply to contractors’ outreach and recruitment activities?
- Are federal contractors permitted to proactively recruit and hire individuals with disabilities?
Implementation Questions
- The regulations require that the "Know Your Rights" poster be made available in a "form that is accessible and understandable" to individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans, such as Braille or large print. Must contractors maintain Braille and/or large print versions of the poster at all locations?
- The regulations require contractors to "conspicuously store" the "Know Your Rights" poster with, or as part of, an electronic application. Does this mean that an actual physical or electronic copy of the poster must be individually stored with each application?
- Under the regulations, must a contractor hire an individual with a disability who is not the best qualified but who meets the minimum requirements of the job for the purposes of affirmative action?
Vacancy Announcement Tagline
- What do the Section 503 regulations require with respect to the equal opportunity employer statement that is included in all solicitations and advertisements for employees?
- May contractors satisfy the equal employment opportunity tagline requirement by abbreviating "disability and protected veteran status" as "D" and "V," respectively?
Equal Opportunity Clause
Reasonable Accommodation
Overview of the Section 503 Regulations
1. Do the Section 503 regulations permit my company to incorporate the equal opportunity clause into subcontracts by reference?
Yes. The regulations permit contractors to incorporate the equal opportunity clause into subcontracts by reference, but only by citing the equal opportunity clause in the regulations AND including the following sentences in bold text:
This contractor and subcontractor shall abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-741.5(a). This regulation prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals on the basis of disability, and requires affirmative action by covered prime contractors and subcontractors to employ and advance in employment qualified individuals with disabilities.
2. Can a contractor satisfy its obligation to post a notice informing applicants and employees of their equal employment opportunity rights by posting the notice electronically?
When a contractor has employees who do not work at its physical location, the contractor can satisfy its posting obligation by posting the equal employment opportunity (EEO) notice in electronic format. To have the ability to use electronic postings to satisfy this obligation, a contractor must either provide these employees with computers that can access the electronic posting or the contractor must have actual knowledge that the electronically posted notice is otherwise accessible to these employees. Contractors must post electronic notices for employees in a conspicuous location and format on their intranet or send them to employees by email. If the contractor uses an electronic application process, it must post an electronic notice to inform job applicants of their EEO rights. Electronic notices for applicants must be conspicuously stored with, or as part of, the electronic application. In addition, in individual instances, a contractor may have to provide a notice of EEO rights electronically as a form of reasonable accommodation for a disabled employee, even if the employee works at the contractor's physical location.
3. How frequently must contractors conduct a review of physical and mental job qualification standards under the Section 503 regulations?
41 CFR 60-741.44(c) of the regulations requires that these reviews of job qualification standards be conducted "periodically."
4. Do the Section 503 regulations require the use of mandatory job listings?
No. The regulations do not mandate that contractors list employment opportunities with the American Job Centers or other state or local employment services, nor do they require that contractors enter into linkage agreements. Rather, the regulations require that contractors undertake "appropriate outreach and positive recruitment activities," and provide suggested resources that contractors may use to carry out this general outreach and recruitment obligation.
The approach in the regulations gives contractors the flexibility to choose the specific resources they believe will be most helpful in identifying and attracting qualified individuals with disabilities, given their particular needs and circumstances.
5. Do the Section 503 regulations require that contractors document the design and implementation of an audit and reporting system for their affirmative action program?
The regulations require contractors to document the design and implementation of an audit and reporting system for their affirmative action program and retain this documentation as employment records.
6. What documentation requirements apply to contractors’ outreach and recruitment activities?
The Section 503 regulations require that contractors document all of their outreach and recruitment activities, and retain these records for three years (41 CFR 60-741.44(f)(4)). This helps contractors and OFCCP evaluate the effectiveness of these efforts in identifying and recruiting qualified individuals with disabilities.
7. Are federal contractors permitted to proactively recruit and hire individuals with disabilities?
Yes. It is legally permissible for all employers to create programs to proactively recruit and hire individuals with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability rights laws, like Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, are meant to encourage and foster practices that benefit individuals with disabilities and to permit an employment preference for qualified individuals with disabilities (whether those disabilities are obvious or voluntarily disclosed). In fact, Section 503 requires that covered federal contractors and subcontractors take affirmative steps to employ and advance in employment individuals with disabilities. Accordingly, contractors must undertake appropriate outreach and positive recruitment activities that are reasonably designed to effectively recruit qualified individuals with disabilities 41 CFR 60-741.44(f)). Such proactive recruitment and hiring practices should include at least some of the following:
- Enlisting support from state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies, local Social Security Administration (SSA) Employment Networks (ENs), local disability groups, and placement or career offices of educational institutions that specialize in the placement of individuals with disabilities.
- Incorporating special efforts to reach students who are individuals with disabilities while recruiting at educational institutions.
- Participating in work-study programs for students, trainees, or interns with disabilities.
- Taking any other positive steps it deems necessary to attract individuals with disabilities not currently in the workforce who have requisite skills and can be recruited through affirmative action measures. These individuals may be located through state VR agencies and ENs.
- In making hiring decisions, considering applicants who are known to have disabilities for all available positions for which they may be qualified when the position applied for is unavailable.
Implementation Questions
1. The regulations require that the "Know Your Rights" poster be made available in a "form that is accessible and understandable" to individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans, such as Braille or large print. Must contractors maintain Braille and/or large print versions of the poster at all locations?
Providing the "Know Your Rights" poster in an alternate format, such as large print or Braille, is a form of reasonable accommodation. Contractors must make the poster available in an alternate format only when an applicant or employee requests the poster in an alternate format, or when the contractor knows that an applicant or employee is unable to read the poster because of a disability. Contractors may also provide the poster to an applicant or employee with a disability in other alternate formats, such as on disc or in an audio recording, so long as the format provided enables the individual with a disability to access the contents of the poster.
2. The regulations require contractors to "conspicuously store" the "Know Your Rights" poster with, or as part of, an electronic application. Does this mean that an actual physical or electronic copy of the poster must be individually stored with each application?
The purpose of this requirement is to ensure that applicants who apply for jobs electronically are informed of their equal employment opportunity protections as part of the application process. Although including a copy of the poster with every electronic application will satisfy the requirement, the regulations do not require contractors to do this. Rather, a contractor may choose to satisfy this requirement in any way that ensures that every electronic applicant has the opportunity to view the poster during the application process, such as by displaying a prominent link to the poster, along with a brief explanation of what the link connects to, as part of their electronic application.
3. Under the regulations, must a contractor hire an individual with a disability who is not the best qualified but who meets the minimum requirements of the job for the purposes of affirmative action?
No. Section 503 regulations do not require contractors to hire an individual who is not qualified for the position being sought. Nor do they require contractors to hire a less qualified candidate instead of the best-qualified candidate for the purposes of affirmative action.
Vacancy Announcement Tagline
1. What do the Section 503 regulations require with respect to the equal opportunity employer statement that is included in all solicitations and advertisements for employees?
The regulations require a contractor to state in its job solicitations and advertisements that it is an equal opportunity employer of individuals with disabilities. Contractors can do this by simply stating “disability” so that the existing equal opportunity employer statement will be clearly understood.
2. May contractors satisfy the equal employment opportunity tagline requirement by abbreviating "disability and protected veteran status" as "D" and "V," respectively?
Contractors may refer to those protected by Section 503 or VEVRAA by abbreviations, but such abbreviations must be commonly understood by those seeking employment. Simply using "D" and "V," are not adequate abbreviations for this reason. For those protected by Section 503 or VEVRAA, the tagline should at a minimum state "disability" and "vet" so that the tagline will be clearly understood by job seekers.
Equal Opportunity Clause
1. For those contractors that elect to incorporate the required Equal Opportunity (EO) clauses by reference, can the "incorporation by reference" clause required by 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) be combined with the "incorporation by reference" clause required by 41 CFR 60-741.5(a)?
Yes, contractors may combine these two equal opportunity "incorporation by reference" clauses provided that the combined clause is set in bold text and the prescribed content of both clauses is preserved. The following example provides one illustration of how this might be done:
This contractor and subcontractor shall abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-741.5(a). These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals on the basis of protected veteran status or disability, and require affirmative action by covered prime contractors and subcontractors to employ and advance in employment qualified protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.
Reasonable Accommodation
1. Section 503, Appendix B, Developing Reasonable Accommodation Procedures, provides examples of "best practices" for these procedures. During an OFCCP compliance evaluation, how many of these "best practices" will contractors be held accountable for adopting and implementing?
Contractors are not obligated to adopt and implement any of the practices found in Appendix B unless they are required elsewhere in the regulations. Contractors are required to provide needed reasonable accommodations but they are not required to adopt the procedures as discussed in Appendix B. While not required to adopt written procedures, OFCCP certainly encourages contractors to do so. Such procedures would assist contractors in meeting their reasonable accommodation obligations.
The contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies.
Last updated on July 17, 2025