There is a lot of guidance available regarding the ADA. For small businesses, compliance with the ADA is not difficult. To help businesses with their compliance efforts, Congress has established various technical assistance programs to answer questions about the ADA and has provided tax incentives. A listing of the various resources and tax code provisions is included in the Federal Government Listings and Additional Resources section of the Resource Directory of this Guide. The ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) significantly broadens the coverage of the ADA so that more employees with less severe impairments are protected by the definition of “disability”. Employers are strongly encouraged to consult with legal counsel regarding disability assessments and reasonable accommodation issues, particularly in light of the ADAAA amendments. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION REQUIREMENTS FOR GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS Businesses that contract with the government may be subject to affirmative action requirements. Federal, state and local laws each have different criteria to determine if a business must comply with their respective affirmative action or equal employment opportunity requirements. Under Executive Order 11246 (“Non-Discrimination in Employment by Government Contractors and Subcontractors”), as amended, and its implementing Regulations issued on November 13, 2000, by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), a business with 50 or more employees that has a non-construction contract (or subcontract) with the federal government of $50,000 or more, or a business receiving in excess of $10,000 for a federally assisted construction project, must develop an affirmative action plan. Note that those Regulations, according to the OFCCP, refocus compliance emphasis from the development of a written affirmative action plan to the implementation of such a plan into the overall management of the contracting or subcontracting business. Note also that those Regulations place greater emphasis on (and give OFCCP greater/monitoring powers over) whether such businesses are discriminating with respect to employee pay. Compliance with the Executive Order is monitored by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. In summer 2014, the President signed several Executive Orders affecting the affirmative action obligations of federal contractors. Executive Order 13665 prohibits federal contractors from discharging or in any other manner discriminating against employees because they inquire about, discussed, or disclosed their own compensation or the compensation information of another employee. Executive Order 13672 prohibits federal contractors from discriminating against applicants or employees based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Executive Order 13673 requires employers seeking new federal contracts to disclose whether there have been any administrative or judicial judgements against it for labor and employment violations in the past three years. In addition, in March 2014, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance issued final rules implementing amendments to the Rehabilitation Act and the Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act. The effect of these was to impose on federal contractors an obligation to establish annual hiring benchmarks for individuals with disabilities and veterans with a utilization goal of seven percent of the workforce. Under Minn. Stat. § 363A.36, vendors who intend to bid on any purchases or contracts exceeding $100,000, and have had on any single working day in the past year more than 40 employees in Minnesota, must apply for a Certificate of Compliance from the Minnesota Department of Human
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