EEOC's charge backlog the arrangement could be expanded to include nonsystemic charges. B. Other Veterans/Handicapped Programs There are additional components of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, which have an effect on OFCCP, and which suffer from lack of effective coordination with Section 503 and 402 programs: Federal Employment Congress established the Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees whose membership consists of Chairman of the Civil Service Commission, the Administrator of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. This Committee does not cover employment for Vietnam era veterans. Staff members of OFCCP have an informal liaison with staff on the Commission, but at present, there is no formal or informal relationship with the Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board This Board was created by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The Secretary of Labor is a member of the Board. examine alternative approaches to the architectural, transportation, and attitudinal barriers confronting handicapped individuals. Since many of these activi ties affect Government contractors, it is imperative that this liaison be strengthened. The Assistant Secretary for the Employment Standards Administration is the secretary's designee on both the Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees and the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board. Grant-in-Aid Programs The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) has the responsibilities of issuing rules and regulations for the grant-in-aid programs and of providing guidelines for all Federal agencies. The Department of Labor must issue its own regulations for recipients of DOL grants patterned after the guidelines and regulations of HEW. The Task Force recommends that: The Director, OFCCP, be designated a member of: The Secretary's Veterans' Committee; the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, and the Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees; and that OFCCP be designated the responsibility for enforcing Section 504 within the Department III. Employment and Training Administration Under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) of 1973, as amended, ETA provides training and job opportunities as well as other ancilliary services to unemployed and underemployed persons. This is done through national programs and State and local government prime sponsors. OFCCP programs create a demand for qualified and qualificable minorities, women, handicapped persons and veterans through its compliance and enforcement efforts which can be filled by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) through its programs to increase the supply of qualified minorities, women, handicapped persons, and veterans. It is the fundamental position of the task force is that the activities of ETA and OFCCP should be meshed to more effectively serve their beneficaries. 1. The task force recommends the following: Employment opportunities created by Government con- The Federal government is continually funding major contracts which have significant impact on local employment and create special training needs. Such contracts affect the training and employment requirements of the prime sponsors and increase the employment opportunities for Contracts with this potential should be included in a management information system established to identify the job potential created by Federal contract early in the procurement process. Appropriate prime and national ETA program sponsors should be advised of the anticipated need for qualified workers and such contracts would be targeted by OFCCP for compliance reviews. These reviews would include an examination of contractor hiring patterns to determine if minorities, women, handicapped persons and veterans trained and referred by the prime sponsors are being placed on jobs. CHAPTER 12 RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PUBLIC I. Introduction and Background Not unlike other Federal agencies, particularly those which pursue activities which are designed to deliver services directly to the public, OFCCP's relationships with the general public and specific public groups need a vast amount of improvement in the areas of public accountability, outreach, and balanced input in policy decisions. The most pressing problem relates to the fact that OFCCP has not developed a system for measuring its progress toward accomplishing its mission. From data and information gathered from the recommended summary affirmative action program coding sheet OFCCP would be in a position to assess accomplishments in creating new employment opportunities created for handicapped individuals, minorities, women, and Vietnam Era Veterans. The Task Force recommends that information reflecting progress and problems be summarized annually and dis |