In anticipation of National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October, our partner Think Beyond the Label will be hosting a virtual career fair for job seekers with disabilities on October 16 and DirectEmployers is pleased to be a featured partner in this event! Think Beyond the Label is teaming up with Brazen Careerist to host [...]

The following guest post was written by Jennifer Pirtle from the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employment and Training Administration, Division of National Programs, Tools & Technical Assistance. The Department of Labor (DOL) wants to help prepare workers with the skills that businesses are looking for when filling job openings. To do this, DOL needs [...]

February 21 marked the deadline to provide comments to the Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP) regarding their proposed regulations to amend the affirmative action and nondiscrimination obligations of federal contractors and subcontractors to employ and advance in employment individuals with disabilities. The proposed rule was released by the OFCCP on December 9, 2011. [...]

By now, hopefully you are aware the OFCCP issued a Notice of Public Rulemaking (NPRM) on December 9, 2012 that would revise and update Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. If not, you’ll definitely want to PAY ATTENTION TO THIS ISSUE! The new rules would require federal contractors and subcontractors to do far [...]

As I mentioned in Part I of this topic, an employer’s decision to implement a background investigation program is certainly no small undertaking. It is important to first research and understand the relevant laws regarding the use of background investigations in the employment process, which I reviewed in Part I as well. I thought it [...]

Recently I’ve received a number of questions from government personnel and employers regarding the use of background investigations in the employment process. An employer’s decision to implement a background investigation program is taken very seriously, and it is no small undertaking. There are many laws and other policy decisions that need to be considered throughout [...]

As I entered the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill the morning of June 1 with colleagues from our key partner, the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, I was humbled to be walking through the halls of Congress. Soon I would be testifying, on behalf of DirectEmployers Association, to the House Committee on [...]

July 11 was no ordinary day to the members of the Recruitment Regulatory Compliance Committee (RRCC) of DirectEmployers Association. It was the deadline for submitting comment letters to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) to respond to their Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) to Section 4212 modifying federal government contractors’ affirmative action [...]

The Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Progams, or OFCCP, issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) on April 26, 2011, modifying the affirmative action obligations and compliance requirements as they relate to the employment and advancement of qualified protected veterans. Employers who are federal government contractors will want to sit up and take notice [...]

Recently I developed and facilitated a webinar, Veteran Outreach: Partnering at the Local Level (see the Session Description below), for employers and delivered the first one on March 16 and repeated it again on March 31. The webinar is being offered free-of-charge to employers, workforce and economic developers, government partners and others interested in learning [...]

It was 15 October 2010 at approximately 0930. I’ll never forget it as long as I live. We lucked out with a vivid blue sky and a gorgeous day. Sitting on a troop seat in a KC-135 Stratotanker—the world’s largest flying gas station—at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, I was anxiously anticipating the take off [...]

If you want to build or enhance your company’s college recruiting program and make it a first-class operation, I highly recommend you consider a membership in the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). NACE is a community of college career services professionals, employers recruiting college students for internships and jobs, and others interested in [...]

On September 29, the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs held a hearing on Federal Contractor Compliance. The Honorable Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Chairwoman, opened the session with her opening statement. The Honorable John Boozman, Ranking Republican Member, followed with his opening statement. Dr. Rochelle Webb, President of the National Association [...]

As you continue to build your company’s military recruiting program, Part IV of this series provides you with detailed information about the Department of Defense’s Transition Assistance Program (TAP) and includes helpful TAP contacts by service branch. 5 – Military Bases and TAP Offices (continued) So let’s talk more about the TAP offices as good [...]

Part III of this series continues my list of suggested military recruiting sources to help you target qualified veteran applicants. It begins with a fifth recommendation to encourage employers to build relationships with military bases and Transition Assistance Program (TAP) offices. Working with military bases and TAP offices often go hand-in-hand. Following through with this [...]

DirectEmployers Association officially kicked off its new Recruitment Regulatory Compliance Committee (RRCC) with its first meeting held on October 6, 2010, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Association’s 2010 Annual Meeting and Conference followed October 7th and 8th. In mid-April of this year at the DirectEmployers Association’s Board of Directors meeting in Washington, [...]

Last Thursday night, on September 23, I had the honor of attending the 2010 Freedom Award ceremony at The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. hosted by the Secretary of Defense and the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). The Freedom Award publicly recognizes 15 employers for their exceptional [...]

Direct Compliance, as described in Increase Your Pool of Veteran Applicants – Part I, provides an automated, efficient and very cost-effective resource for you to ensure your job openings are delivered accurately and reliably to the state workforce system and the appropriate local employment service office(s). Now, get ready for a healthy dose of acronym [...]

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive from the Members of DirectEmployers Association has to do with how to build a successful military recruiting strategy, including specific sources to target to increase the company’s pool of qualified veteran applicants. Having built an award-winning military recruiting program from the ground floor for the nation’s [...]

Last week, I flew into Pittsburgh on Monday and drove to Boswell, Pennsylvania, to a campsite called Outdoor Odyssey. I was invited to attend and speak at a COMPASS Transition Program for combat-wounded warriors returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. COMPASS is an intensive five-day veteran reintegration program developed and sponsored by the Veteran Employment Transition [...]

Does your military recruiting strategy include targeted outreach to Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) in the states and local communities where your company operates? Veterans bring solid leadership capabilities to the workplace, including a wide variety of technical skills in occupations of critical importance. Some veterans also already have security clearances required for some positions in [...]

As fall approaches, it’s time to focus on college recruiting. Think about the need to develop a separate college recruiting strategy for your entry-level versus your management-level hiring needs. With limited resources to manage your college recruiting activities, you need to get the most from your return on investment and keep your cost-per-hire low. To [...]

Are you overwhelmed with where and how to enhance or build a meaningful, strategic initiative to recruit, hire and retain employees with disabilities? For starters, check out these two books: Diversifying Your Workforce: A Four-Step Reference Guide to Recruiting, Hiring, & Retaining Employees with Disabilities and Opening Doors to All Candidates: Tips for Ensuring Access [...]

Gosh, I’ve been at DirectEmployers Association for two years already. Shifting from a Fortune 500 company where I directed company-wide employment operations to DirectEmployers, a non-profit association, and working as a telecommuter has been an incredible and rewarding experience. I am simply passionate about our Association’s mission and what we do, and working with Bill Warren [...]