New Disability Forms Required for Contractors

by Brett Taylor

This summer, federal contractors and subcontractors must begin using a revised Disability Self-Identification Form CC-305 (the revised form) for applicants and current employees to self-identify as an individual with a disability. The revised form replaces the current version of the form that expired on May 31, 2023. The changes include several straightforward plain language edits, but also an expanded list of conditions that qualify as disabilities.

For background, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which is enforced by the U.S. Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating against individuals with disabilities and requires employers take affirmative action to recruit, hire, promote, and retain these individuals. As part of that aim, Section 503 requires contractors to offer job applicants, during both the pre-offer and post-offer phases of the hiring process, the opportunity to self-identify as an individual with a disability using the OFCCP’s official invitation, Form CC-305. Contractors are further required to resurvey their workforces at least once every five years, as well as issue at least one reminder between invitations. Importantly, federally-insured financial institutions are considered federal contractors for purposes of Section 503.

On April 25, 2023, the Office of Management and Budget approved the OFCCP’s revised form which replaces the current version of the form that expired on May 31, 2023. According to the OFCCP, the revisions have been made to “update the preferred language for disabilities and to include additional examples of disabilities.” More specifically, the revised form adds the following conditions as disabilities:

• Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)

• Mobility impairment benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/ or other supports

• Neurodivergence (i.e., attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities)

• Partial/complete paralysis

• Pulmonary/Respiratory conditions, such as tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema

• Short stature (dwarfism)

• Traumatic brain injury

The OFCCP also amended previously listed disabilities of cancer, deaf/hard of hearing, epilepsy, and intellectual disability as follows:

• Cancer (past or present)

• Deaf or serious difficulty hearing

• Epilepsy or other seizure disorder

• Intellectual or developmental disability

Because the revised form provides additional and expanded disabilities that employees may not have considered when completing earlier versions of Form CC-305, an increase in the number of employees who identify as disabled is expected. For those larger federal contractors, the increase could help them in meeting the OFCCP’s 7% utilization goal, which is the aspirational goal used to measure the success of a contractor’s efforts in outreach to and recruitment of individuals with disabilities.

As to less substantive changes, the OFCCP revised Form CC-305 to make it clear that completing the form is voluntary, whereas previous versions stated identifying as a person with a disability was voluntary. The OFCCP also made slight plain language revisions to the check-box at the end of the form.

Financial institutions subject to Section 503 should move quickly to implement the revised form and incorporate it into their existing systems and processes, which could include updating any references to the form in employee handbooks, manuals, and the like. Of course, all information received regarding self-identification should be kept confidential and maintained in a data analysis file, separate from personnel and medical files. The revision also serves as a good reminder for federally-insured financial institutions to be diligent in conducting their 5-year resurveys and, in the interim, remind their employees that they may voluntarily update their disability status at any time.

Contractors have until July 25, 2023 to implement the updated Form CC-305 into their hiring and retention processes. The revised form expires on April 30, 2026.