POLICY
FOR EMPLOYMENT OF SPECIAL DISABLED VETERANS AND VIETNAM ERA VETERANS
It is the policy of The State
University of New York College at Cortland that no
qualified special disabled veteran or Vietnam Era
veteran shall be excluded from participation in
employment or be subject to discrimination as a result
of such employment. The College will employ, advance
in employment, and otherwise treat special disabled
veterans and Vietnam Era veterans without discrimination
in all employment practices, including, but not limited
to, advertising, recruitment, employment, promotion,
demotion, or transfer, layoff or termination, rates of
pay or other forms of compensation, and selection for
training. 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.
A “special disabled veteran” is
defined by law as a person 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 Veterans Administration for a
disability rated at 30 percent or more; or rated at 10
or 20 percent in the case of a veteran who has been
determined under Section 1506 of Title 38, U.S. Code, to
have a serious employment disability; or a person who
was discharged or released from active duty because of a
service-connected disability.
The term “serious employment
disability” means a significant impairment of a
veteran’s ability to prepare for, obtain, or retain
employment consistent with such veteran’s abilities,
aptitudes, and interests.
A “Vietnam Era veteran” is a person
who: 1) served more than 180 days of active military,
naval, or air service, any part of which occurred during
from the period August 5, 1964 through May 7, 1975 or
any part of which was during the period from February
28, 1961 through May 7, 1975 if the person served in the
Republic of Vietnam; or 2) who was discharged or
released there from with other than a dishonorable
discharge; or 3) was discharged or released from active
duty because of a service-connected disability.
The Veterans Employment
Opportunities Act (VEOA) public law 105-339 of 1998
extended affirmative action to an additional group of
veterans: “Other Eligible Veterans.” Employees or
applicants who identify themselves as “Other Eligible
Veterans” is defined as those veterans who: (1) served
on active duty during a war, or (2) served in a campaign
or expedition for which a campaign badge has been
authorized.
Employees or applicants who believe
themselves to be 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 by completing the
appropriate form which is available in the Human
Resources Office. In order that they may qualify for
positions which they presumably might be unable to fill
because of their disability, employees identifying
themselves as special disabled veterans, Vietnam Era
veterans, and/or other eligible veterans will be asked
to describe any special methods, skills, and/or
procedures that would qualify them for available
positions. By doing so, this will alert the College to
needs for changes in the physical layout of the job or
modification of certain nonessential duties related to
the job.
Reasonable physical accommodation
for disabled individuals and special disabled veterans
will be determined through consultation with
management. Business necessity and financial costs will
be considerations affecting the decisions.
According to the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990, the College may request a
pre-employment comprehensive medical examination at its
expense only after an offer of employment has been made
to an applicant and prior to commencement of the
applicant’s employment duties. The Act also specifies
that an employer may make the offer of employment
contingent on the results of the examination, provided
certain conditions are met.