Checklist for Special Disabled Veterans and Covered Veterans

Keep this checklist handy for a quick review of your company’s affirmative action obligations for special disabled veterans and covered veterans.

• Post the equal opportunity notice on affirmative action for disabled veterans and all covered veterans in a conspicuous place where both employees and applicants can see it.
• Formally notify unions of company commitment. Retain union acknowledgement.
• Include the affirmative action clause in all covered contracts.
• Prepare the EEO policy statement.
• Prepare an annual affirmative action program (may be included with the AAP for disabled individuals).
• Prepare the annual VETS-100 Report, due September 30.
• Appoint and identify in the AAP the local disabled veteran and covered veterans coordinator.
• Review the policy and AAP with managers and supervisors; solicit their input.
• List job openings with the “appropriate employment service delivery system”—state employment service office, one-stop service locations, workforce development office.
• Establish contacts with local organizations that emphasize veterans’ employment.
• List employees who self-identify as special disabled veterans or covered veterans. Make efforts to ensure they meet the definition of covered employees under the law.
• Review selection practices, including job descriptions, to ensure that special disabled veterans and covered veterans are not screened out.
• Review personnel records to identify promotable veterans; determine if their present and potential skills are utilized and developed.

America’s Job Bank

The impact on employers and jobseekers “would be negligible,” according to ETA, because most, if not all, state-run and private-sector sites offer free services to jobseekers. Industry trends indicate some level of free service will be available to businesses in the future, the agency said. Most employers who use AJB also use other job boards simultaneously to advertise their openings, ETA stated.

Budget constraints are another factor. The cost of operating AJB has been as high as $27 million per year, with a current operating budget for maintenance-only of $12 million per year. Even with this sizable investment, AJB’s technology is outdated and more difficult to navigate than other electronic alternatives, according to ETA. The cost to maintain technology and make improvements to the site is no longer justifiable “given that AJB duplicates what is already available in the private sector.”

Transition Plan in Place

ETA’s transition plan for shutting down AJB includes setting up a system to direct employers and jobseekers to both public and private sector job banks that are comparable to AJB. The transition plan is outlined in ETA Training and Employment Notice (TEN) No. 27-06, dated April 3, 2007. A list of Web links to qualified websites will be posted on the CareerOneStop portal at http://careeronestop·org/ajbprsjbl. The list of Web links, including all state workforce agency job banks, will be available for about 6 months beginning in late spring 2007.

Earlier this year, ETA invited operators of private and nonprofit job banks or bulletin boards similar to AJB to submit information about their services if they wanted to be considered for inclusion on the Web links list. (See 72 Federal Register 3425 (January 25, 2007)).

‘Career One Stop’ Sites Not Affected

The CareerOneStop portal, operated by ETA, is not affected by the AJB shut down. This includes America’s Career InfoNet (www·careerinfonet·org), which provides jobseekers with career information. Business and economic developers may access labor market information, business services, and skills competency information. America’s Service Locator (www·servicelocator·org) will continue to provide tools to find employment and training services.

For more information about the phase-out of AJB, contact Anthony Dais, Office of Workforce Investment, ajbtransition@dol·gov or 202-693-2650, or call your local or regional DOL office.