The Two Reasons Why Companies Don’t Hire Veterans & How to Overcome Them

Since 2011, the Department of Labor has actively created initiatives supporting veteran & veteran spouse employment. Despite those initiatives and the benefits they provide companies, many businesses have yet to implement veteran recruiting.

Recruit Military currently has over 800,000 job-seeking veterans with only 230k available jobs- these are unacceptable numbers. For veterans wondering why businesses have difficulty investing in the veteran workforce, there are two main reasons we want to explore and debunk.

The first reason is related to the strict rules employers must follow enforced by USERRA.

USERRA Compliance

Questions many employers believe to be necessary can land them in serious legal trouble, especially if they do not hire the potential candidate. All veterans are protected by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, or USSERA. USERRA was created to protect service members job eligibility & overall rights within the civilian workplace. Civilian employers must be aware that asking questions centered around:

• Future deployments
• Injuries from previous deployments
• mental health diagnosis related to service
• Type of discharge received

will infringe on a veterans’ employment rights. Employers should instead ask potential hires about their job training & education, as well as if they would be able to successfully complete the job description they are applying. If employers stray from focusing on job specific questions a veteran has the right to file a claim against your organization.

While USERRA can put off many employers it should not. Veterans deserve to have their rights protected and employers are encouraged to evaluate a veteran job candidate in the same way they would a civilian applicant.

Please note- Federal employers are allowed to ask about a veteran's discharge if the job in question requiries a security clearance.

Finding the “Right” Candidate

The second hurdle employers often state is their misconception that veterans lack the skills to work outside of the military.

This could not be more false.

It’s no secret veterans possess key traits any company would benefit from such as discipline, leadership, teamwork and accountability but they also have job skills that transfer into the real world. Employers interested in recruiting veterans for a specific job or industry should become familiar with military job codes.

Career One Stop offers employers the Civilian-to Military Occupation Translator where employers can enter the job title in question and receive the military job codes that closely match. Companies that work with their local Career One Stop, as well as, Hire Heroes, Recruit Military, MOAA and Hero2Hired will find exceptionally qualified candidates in their area.

We encourage all companies to begin or increase their veteran recruitment and utilize the above resources. Hiring a veteran is not only a small way to repay service members for their sacrifice but also, a smart business investment.

Are you a veteran who is employed or a civilian employer who has successfully hired veterans? We want to hear from you! Share your story, as well as, any beneficial tips veterans and employers should know.