EEOC's January 3, 2017 disability rule sets workforce goals for federal agencies covered by Section 501, not fixed hiring quotas for private employers. The final text calls for 12 percent representation of people with disabilities and a 2 percent subgoal for people with targeted disabilities. The smaller category sits within the larger one; the percentages are not added. [2016-31397]

Each goal is applied separately to two pay groups. One includes GS-11 and above, plus non-General Schedule employees earning at least the GS-11, step 1 Washington, DC locality salary. The other includes GS-10 and below and non-GS employees below that salary threshold. These are workforce-planning categories, not percentages of each vacancy or a report of representation already achieved. [2016-31397]

The February 24, 2016 proposal helps explain the design. It proposed the same numerical goals separately for GS-11 and above, including the Senior Executive Service, and GS-10 and below. The final provisions expressly account for salary-equivalent non-GS staff. These documents belong to one rulemaking chain, so their agreement is not independent confirmation of employment outcomes. [2016-31397][2016-03530]

Under the final rule, missing a goal alone does not justify plan disapproval if the plan requires specific steps reasonably designed to achieve it. The original schedule lists March 6, 2017 under effectiveness and January 3, 2018 under applicability; the executive summary explains the one-year preparation period. Despite awkward applicability wording beneath the first heading, March is not a separate immediate-compliance promise. This particular rule excludes private, state and local employers, without exempting them from other disability law. [2016-31397]

Source documents

  1. Affirmative Action for Individuals With Disabilities in Federal Employmenthttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-01-03/html/2016-31397.htm
  2. Affirmative Action for Individuals With Disabilities in the Federal Governmenthttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-02-24/html/2016-03530.htm