Transition to Business HUMAN RESOURCES

By Paul Falcone

Private Sector Employers and Veterans: A Growing Partnership

May is National Military Appreciation Month, and now is a good time to explore the relationship and partnership that exists between private sector employers and veterans. Many active military members will engage in a job search in the private sector at some point, so understanding the key touch points that connect veterans and private employers is definitely a healthy exercise. An important caveat, however: the guidelines that follow can be complex because of private versus public employer requirements, so this isn’t meant to be a legal treatise on all the ins and outs that impact the veteran population in the private sector. Instead, this is meant to provide you with high level interview of some important factors that can impact your career once you’re a full-fledged member of the private sector.

The Pre-Employment Process

First, let’s start with the basics. Often, veterans are considered valuable employees in the workplace as they tend to hold advanced skills in management, organization, task fulfillment, punctuality, adaptability, commitment, and team building. Certain organizations give hiring preference to veterans.

For some like the federal government, certain hiring practices may be required by law. For others, military and veteran outreach simply makes common sense for reasons that include a fresh source of talent, corporate social responsibility, and diversity outreach. Next, you are not required to disclose your military status. However, depending on the length of your service, it could leave an awkward gap in your employment history if you don’t.

In any event, you can expect private sector employers to include questions about veteran status on their job applications. That information helps companies comply with the recruiting and hiring requirements that apply to protected veterans.

Likewise, employers typically ask if an applicant is a “disabled veteran.” You are not required under the Americans with Disabilities Act or other law to disclose your disability status. However, federal contractors and subcontractors are governed by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to set a goal of maintaining seven percent of employees with disabilities across each of their job groups or across their entire workforce for those with one hundred or fewer employees. This seven percent disability utilization goal works in your favor during the hiring process, if applicable.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) prohibits all employers from discriminating against any veteran, reservist, or National Guard members because of their past, present, or future military obligations. Your military discharge papers are officially known as DD Form 214, or just DD-214. All veterans receive this Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty once they are out of the military. In a nutshell, the DD-214 is proof of your military service.

DD-214 reports will also provide your discharge type. However, employers are not permitted to ask candidates about their military discharge type or status during the hiring process.

Once Employment Begins

Gen-Y Millennials (43 and under) and Gen-Z Zoomers (25 and under) are considered the most studied generational cohorts in world history, and we know what they want: diversity of thoughts, ideas, and voices consistently ranks in their top five priorities. Wise employers look to trends like these to add to their employment programs in order to attract and retain top talent. Diversity is about appreciating our differences, equity is about providing equal access to opportunity, and inclusion is about fostering a sense of value and empowerment in employees.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are directed toward diverse groups of workers based on classifications such as culture, age, gender, sexuality, disability, race, nationality, and pregnancy. What’s important for you to realize is that veterans are considered diversity hires, which again works to your advantage.

Finally, “affinity” groups, also known as Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), are intended to create opportunities for employees with similar interests to come together to network and socialize with one another and benefit from opportunities like mentoring and coaching assignments, special projects, and the like. Be sure and research whether your next employer has a military/veteran ERG and, if not, look into starting one yourself for your organization (with Human Resources’ help).

Finally, remember that USERRA protects members of the uniformed services during employment as well. As a protected veteran, you have the right to work in an environment free of discrimination. You cannot be denied employment, harassed, demoted, terminated, paid less, or treated less favorably because of your veteran status. The fact that so many employers are looking to do the right thing and hire veterans— especially disabled veterans—for legal as well as goodwill purposes bodes well for your transition into the private sector when the time comes.

You can connect with Paul on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/paulfalcone1 www.HarperCollinsLeadership.com

Paul Falcone (www.PaulFalconeHR.com) is a management trainer, executive coach, and bestselling author on hiring, performance management, and leadership development.