A newly released Government Accountability Office (GAO) report calls on the Department of Labor (DOL) to strengthen its oversight of federal contractors’ compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and provide more guidance to help them meet their obligations. DOL agreed with six of GAO’s eight recommendations but neither agreed nor disagreed with the other two.
GAO’s report, publicly released on Oct. 6, 2026, highlights the value of Section 503 audits as a compliance monitoring tool, even though the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) suspended them in early 2025. OFCCP also paused contractors’ affirmative action program (AAP) certifications, which were previously submitted by contractors through OFCCP’s Contractor Portal. GAO reported that this was done despite the fact that 532 audits conducted by OFCCP between fiscal years 2017 and 2025 found violations of Section 503. Without audits, GAO said, DOL has less assurance that contractors are meeting their obligations to support employment of people with disabilities.
GAO recommended resuming both the AAP contractor certifications, as well as Section 503 audits. GAO also recommended OFCCP review how certain Section 503 complaints are handled, planning for OFCCP’s staffing needs, and providing contractors with more resources on recruitment, reasonable accommodations, outreach, and compliance practices.
In response, DOL said it has no current plans to resume any contractor certifications or...
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