This new rule applies to federal government contractors who are subject to the recordkeeping provisions of the rules and orders enforced through the OFCCP:

* Executive Order 11246 (race,color, religion, sex, or national origin; nondiscrimination and affirmative action for contractors);

* Executive Order 13201 (notice requirements related to union dues);

* Rehabilitation Act - 503 (disability; nondiscrimination and affirmative action for contractors);

* VEVRA (Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974) (veterans; nondiscrimination and affirmative action for contractors);

* Some provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The rule elaborates on "Internet technology" for recruitment, screening, and hiring of employees, including:

* E-mail

* Resume databases

* Job banks

* Electronic scanning technology

* Applicant tracking systems/Applicant service providers

* Applicant screeners

Covered employers are required to obtain and keep information on the gender, race, and ethnicity of applicants where possible. The final rules require those data for applicants who meet the following definition:

(1) The individual submits an expression of interest (the rule emphasizes that the definition includes all expressions of interest, regardless of means or manner) in employment through the Internet or related electronic data technologies;

(2) The contractor considers the individual for employment in a particular position (by assessing the substantive information provided in the "expression of interest");

(3) The individual's expression of interest indicates the individual possesses the basic qualifications for the position (that is, the relevant, objective, and non-comparative qualifications the contractor advertises, or which are established in advance); and,

(4) The individual at no point in the contractor's selection process prior to receiving an offer of employment from the contractors, removes himself or herself from further consideration or otherwise indicates that he or she is no longer interested in the position.

Contractors may establish procedures and protocols that they won't consider "expressions of interest" that do not meet the set procedure, and are required to administer the procedures and protocols uniformly and consistently to similarly situated jbo seekers. They can also establish protocols that they will not consider "expressions of interest" when there is no particular position open or referenced (such as unsolicited resumes, or resumes submitted when there is no job posting).