When asking about an individual's disability is required

For many employers, asking whether a job applicant or employee has a disability is a recipe for a discrimination lawsuit. For those of you who are HR professionals for government contractors, however, "don't ask" is not necessarily the best advice. Government contractors have a legal obligation to solicit disability self-identification information from their job applicants and employees. This is of particular importance for employers in Northern Virginia (which ranks second in the nation in the amount of money spent by the federal government on contracting entities) and Maryland (which has some of the country's largest defense and other federal contractors).

Legal requirements

Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits government contractors from discriminating against applicants and employees based on a disability. Additionally, the law requires government contractors to engage in affirmative outreach to encourage people with disabilities to participate in their workforces. To ensure they are following the law, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) periodically conducts compliance checks to assess whether contractors are following their statutory obligations, including the requirement to prioritize disability inclusion.