Policy for employment of special disabled veterans

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY FOR

EMPLOYMENT OF SPECIAL DISABLED VETERANS,

VIETNAM ERA VETERANS, OR OTHER PROTECTED VETERANS

41 CFR 60-250

Policy Statement

As part of the Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Program, the College will provide equal opportunity and will not discriminate against any applicant for employment because of his/her status as a Special Disabled Veteran, Vietnam Era Veteran, or Other Protected Veteran.

The College will take action to ensure that applicants and employees are treated without regard to their status as a Special Disabled Veteran, Vietnam Era Veteran, or Other Protected Veteran. Such action shall include, but not be limited to the following: employment, promotion, demotion, or transfer; recruitment or recruitment advertising; layoff or termination; rates of pay or other forms of compensation; and selection for training.
The College will take affirmative action, which is a positive, ongoing effort to employ and advance individuals with the status of Special Disabled Veteran, Vietnam Era Veteran, and Other Protected Veteran. It is the goal of this College to achieve representation of employees in these groups that reflects their availability in the recruitment area.
Adoption of this policy is in compliance with Section 402 of the Vietnam Era Veteran's Readjustment Act of 1974 and the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998.

Definitions

Special Disabled Veteran – means (i) a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under the laws administered by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs for a disability (A) rated at 30 percent or more; or (B) rated at 10 or 20 percent in the case of a veteran who has been determined under Section 38, U.S.C. 3106 to have a serious employment handicap or (ii) a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

Vietnam Era Veteran – means a person who: (i) served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service for a period of more than 180 days, and who was discharged or released therefrom with other than a dishonorable discharge, if any part of such active duty was performed: (A) in the Republic of Vietnam between February 28, 1961, and May 7, 1975; or (B) between August 5, 1964, and May 7, 1975, in all other cases; or (ii) was discharged or released from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service for a service-connected disability if any part of such active duty was performed (A) in the Republic of Vietnam between February 28, 1961, and May 7, 1975; or (B) between August 5, 1964, and May 7, 1975, in any other location.
Other Protected Veteran – means veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. military ground, naval, or air service during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized. The information required to make a determination is available on the web at http://www.opm.gov/veterans/html/vgmedal2.htm or in the Office of Human Resources, 217 Bray Hall.

Invitation to Self-Identify

Employees or applicants who believe they are covered by Section 408 of the Vietnam Era Veteran's Readjustment Act of 1974 or the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act of 1998 and who wish to benefit under the Affirmative Action Program, are invited to identify themselves on the Employee Questionnaire form at the time of hire or through periodic update of the employee’s personnel file in the Office of Human Resources, 217 Bray Hall.

The College will make every effort to assist employees identified as Special Disabled Veterans, Vietnam Era Veterans, or Other Protected Veterans to reach their full employment potential. Self-identification shall be voluntary, and refusal to provide it will not subject a person to any adverse treatment. Information obtained concerning individuals shall be kept confidential except that (a) supervisors may be informed regarding restrictions on the work or duties of Special Disabled Veterans, and regarding necessary accommodations: (b) first aid and safety personnel may be informed, when and to the extent appropriate, should the condition require emergency treatment, and (c) government officials involved in enforcing laws administered by Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, or enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act, may be informed.

Review of Personnel Processes

The Office of Human Resources continually reviews personnel processes to ensure that applicants and employees are afforded equal employment opportunity. This review is described in Part 3 of this Affirmative Action Program under Action-Oriented Programs and Internal Audit and Reporting. In addition, the College will review its self-identification process for Special Disabled Veterans, Vietnam Era Veterans, or Other Protected Veterans.

As Special Disabled Veterans, Vietnam Era Veterans, or Other Protected Veterans are considered for employment, only those portions of the military and discharge papers pertinent to the specific job qualifications may be reviewed by the Office of Human Resources.

Physical and Mental Qualifications

For every vacancy, the Office of Human Resources reviews job descriptions/postings to ensure that they are in compliance with the New York State Department of Civil Service job specifications, and SUNY Classification Standards. In addition, the Office of Human Resources reviews the physical and mental job qualification standards to ascertain whether they tend to screen out qualified Special Disabled Veterans, Vietnam Era Veterans, or Other Protected Veterans. If such a tendency is identified, these job qualifications will be further reviewed to determine their job-relatedness and their consistency with business necessity and the safe performance of jobs.

Reasonable Accommodations to Physical and Mental Limitations
The College will follow the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in making reasonable accommodations for Special Disabled Veterans. In addition, the College will follow the Procedures for Implementing Reasonable Accommodations in New York State Agencies; this procedure incorporates the broader provisions of the Human Rights Law regarding reasonable accommodation. Special Disabled Veterans may request information and a Request for Reasonable Accommodation form through the Office of Human Resources.

Harassment
Employees are ensured a work environment free from harassment. For complaints charging discrimination or harassment on the basis of status as a Special Disabled Veteran, Vietnam Era Veteran, or Other Protected Veteran, the State University of New York Complaint Procedure for Review of Allegations of Unlawful Discrimination/Harassment is used. Complaints can also be filed with external enforcement agencies such as the NYS Division of Human Rights, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs of the Department of Labor.
External Dissemination of Policy, Outreach and Positive Recruitment
The Action-Oriented Programs in Section 3 of the Affirmative Action Program describe outreach and positive recruitment efforts that the College will make, which include Special Disabled Veterans, Vietnam Era Veterans, or Other Protected Veterans.
In addition, the Office of Human Resources will send vacancy announcements to agencies that serve Special Disabled Veterans, Vietnam Era Veterans, or Other Protected Veterans.
Internal Dissemination of Policy/Responsibility
The College will post on official bulletin boards, notices of the College's obligation and intent to employ and advance in employment qualified Special Disabled Veterans, Vietnam Era Veterans, and Other Protected Veterans. In addition, this information will be provided to new employees during orientation. The College officials listed on page 3 have responsibility for the College’s Affirmative Action Program including this portion of the program pertaining to Veterans.

Audit and Reporting System

In addition to the Internal Audit and Reporting procedure in Section 3 of the Affirmative Action Program, the College will conduct an annual review to determine whether known Special Disabled Veterans, Vietnam Era Veterans, or Other Protected Veterans have had the opportunity to participate in all College-sponsored educational, training, recreational, and social activities.

Vets-100 report

The College files a Vets-100 report on an annual basis.

SUNY-ESF Affirmative Action Program