Thank you to Rik Moore of the National Telecommuting Institute, Inc. for bringing this to my attention early last week.
The US Department of Labor has offered new guidance bringing into focus the WOTC provisions of the recently passed Vow to Hire Heroes Act of 2011.   A summary of WOTC-related provisions from the act has been published on the Department of Labor’s website.  The following is copied directly from that document.  Please download the entire document in order to see footnotes and introductory content not included here.
• Extends the current target group for Veterans receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits with the same qualified wages cap ($6,000) and maximum tax credit ($2,400).
• Extends the current target group for Veterans with a service-connected disability with the same qualified wages cap ($12,000) and maximum tax credit ($4,800).
• Extends the current target group for Veterans with a service-connected disability unemployed for at least 6 months with the qualified wages cap increased to $24,000 and the maximum tax credit increased to $9,600.
• Establishes a new target group for unemployed Veterans, similar to the Recovery Act of 2009 unemployed Veteran group that expired on December 31, 2010:
o Veterans unemployed for at least 4 weeks with a qualified wages cap of $6,000 and maximum tax credit of $2,400.
o Veterans unemployed for at least 6 months with qualified wages cap of $14,000 and maximum tax credit of $5,600.
o State Workforce Agencies will certify veterans as meeting the required periods of unemployment based on receipt of unemployment insurance compensation.
Note: The 5-year period ending on the hiring day requirement that was part of the Recovery Act unemployed veteran group was rescinded.
• Qualified “tax-exempt” (i.e., 501(c)) organizations can now participate by hiring qualified veterans and are now eligible to claim the WOTC.
• These provisions became effective the day after the President signed the Vow to Hire Heroes Act into law, November 22, 2011, through December 31, 2012.
• The Vow to Hire Heroes Act does not extend any of the other (non-Veteran) WOTC target groups, which currently expire on December 31, 2011.