VEVRAA Compliance: Protected Veteran Non-Discrimination Plans

Berkshire Can Help with Protected Veteran Non-Discrimination

While some compliance requirements for federal contractors have changed, the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) remains in place and creates compliance obligations for federal contractors related to protected veterans. This includes a requirement to complete a non-discrimination plan for protected veterans, which is comprised of data analyses, comparison of the contractor’s veteran hiring rates to national benchmarks, and other actions such as conducting targeted outreach and reviewing physical and mental job qualification standards.

Who Does This Apply To?

• Government contractors with a federal contract of $200,000 or more are required to treat qualified individuals without discrimination based on their status as a protected veteran in all employment practices, and to take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment protected veterans. 

• Government contractors who have at least 50 employees and a federal contract of $200,000 or more are required to also create a Protected Veterans Non-Discrimination Plan. 

How Can Berkshire Help?

• Develop a customized written Protected Veterans Non-Discrimination Plan aligned with your organization’s compliance initiatives and programs, reflecting your good faith efforts, and including results of required data analyses.

• Review required data elements and plan structure.
• Validate data and resolve errors or inconsistencies with your assistance.
• Review job titles to confirm proper EEO-1 classification for VETS-4212 reporting.
• Evaluate outreach and recruitment efforts using documented activities from the plan period to assess effectiveness and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Use Berkshire’s Good Faith Efforts Tracker to easily track, evaluate, and document outreach activities throughout the plan year.
• Provide consulting and compliance support from your dedicated consultant.
• Access plan documents, securely exchange files, use the Good Faith Efforts Tracker, and download VEVRAA resources through the Berkshire Client Portal.

Frequently Asked Questions: VEVRAA Non-Discrimination Plan

What does VEVRAA require federal contractors to do?

VEVRAA requires federal contractors and subcontractors with contracts or subcontracts of $200,000 or more, including construction contractors, to ensure non-discrimination in employment on the basis of Protected Veteran status and take non-discrimination to employ and advance in employment Disabled Veterans, Active Duty or Wartime Campaign Badge Veterans, Armed Forces Service Medal Veterans, and Recently Separated Veterans (those discharged from the Service in the past three years). Under the regulations implementing VEVRAA, covered contractors holding a contract of $200,000 or more must prepare a written annual non-discrimination plan for protected veterans. A complete Protected Veteran’s Non-Discrimination Plan is a combination of a written narrative with required policy sections, a data collection analysis summarizing applicant and hiring activity for the reporting period, and a comparison of your veteran hiring rates to a national benchmark. VEVRAA also requires targeted outreach to veteran recruitment sources, and a review of physical and mental job qualification standards to ensure they're job-related and consistent with business necessity.

What's the annual hiring benchmark, and how does it work?

As of July 30, 2025, the national benchmark for hiring protected veterans is 5.1%. The benchmark is set by the Department of Labor and reflects the percentage of veterans in the civilian labor force. As part of your VEVRAA non-discrimination plan, you must compare your actual veteran hiring rate against that benchmark to assess whether your outreach and recruitment efforts produce results. Contractors can use the national benchmark or develop their own using a defined set of factors. The benchmark isn't a quota; it's a measuring stick that helps identify where your practices may need adjustment.

How often does our VEVRAA non-discrimination plan need to be updated?

Annually. Most contractors align their VEVRAA plan year with their Section 503 plan year since many required elements of the written narrative apply to both and the overall structure of the plan would be the same. Section 503 and VEVRAA compliance requirements run on parallel tracks, so keeping both on the same update cycle reduces administrative burden and makes it easier to maintain consistency across your documentation.

What's the difference between VEVRAA compliance and the VETS-4212 report?

VETS-4212 is the annual data submission, a snapshot of your protected veteran employment and hiring activity, filed with the Department of Labor each fall. VEVRAA compliance is the year-round program that sits behind it: your written non-discrimination plan, hiring benchmark comparisons, outreach requirements, and ongoing record keeping. Filing the VETS-4212 report is one obligation veteran non-discrimination plan federal contractors are expected to meet, but it isn't a substitute for a compliant program.

What should we expect if OFCCP schedules a compliance evaluation of our VEVRAA program?

Prior to January 21, 2025, contractors were required to submit their written VEVRAA non-discrimination plan including data collection analysis and hiring benchmark analysis, along with supporting documentation such as veteran outreach efforts, how you've measured the effectiveness of your overall protected veterans program, your organization's personnel process review, and evidence of your good faith efforts towards the hiring benchmark. What compliance evaluations will look like going forward is to be determined. Understanding and monitoring your ongoing compliance and having organized, up-to-date records before you're audited matters. Berkshire's consultants can review your program, walk through the results with your team, and help identify any gaps.