Quick Hit: The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the recipients of the 2018 HIRE Vets Medallion Program Demonstration Award. The award recognizes employers who hire veterans and take efforts to establish employee development programs and veteran-specific benefits to improve their retention. The list of successful employers  honored as the 2018 award recipients includes small businesses, community-based nonprofits, and national companies.

Key Takeaway: Award recipients receive a certificate stating the award year and a digital image of the HIRE Vets Medallion Award, which they have the opportunity to utilize in marketing their company as a veteran-friendly business. Although the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) accepted only a limited number of applications in 2018, the 2019 HIRE Vets Medallion Program will be open to all employers and those who successfully meet the program requirements will receive the awards. The Department of Labor will begin accepting applications for the 2019 HIRE Vets Medallion Award on January 31, 2019, the link to apply is available here: https://www.hirevets.gov/.

More Detail:

The Department of Labor established the HIRE Vets Program under the Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans Act (“HIRE Vets Act”), signed by President Trump on May 5, 2017. The program recognizes employer efforts to recruit, employ, and retain veterans. Employer-applicants meeting criteria established in the rule receive a “HIRE Vets Medallion Award.”

There are different awards for large employers (500-plus employees), medium employers (51-499 employees), and small employers (50 or fewer employees). Additionally, there are two award tiers: Gold and Platinum. For each award, the employer must satisfy a set of criteria. For example, a large employer will qualify for a platinum award if:

  1. its veterans hired during 2018 calendar year is not less than 10% of all employees hired,
  2. its retention of veterans hired during 2017 calendar year is not less than 85% of veterans hired and retained for 12 months,
  3. it had a veteran organization or resource group established and in existence on December 31, 2018,
  4. it had a leadership program established and in existence on December 31, 2018,
  5. it had a dedicated HR professional for veteran employees,
  6. it provided a pay differential program,
  7. it made a tuition assistance program available, and
  8. it did not have any of the labor law violations identified in 20 CFR § 1011.120.

A complete list of program requirements and criteria is available here: https://www.hirevets.gov/resources

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Photo of Guy Brenner Guy Brenner

Guy Brenner is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and leads the Firm’s Washington, D.C. Labor & Employment practice. He is head of the Government Contractor Compliance Group, co-head of the Counseling, Training & Pay Equity Group and a member…

Guy Brenner is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and leads the Firm’s Washington, D.C. Labor & Employment practice. He is head of the Government Contractor Compliance Group, co-head of the Counseling, Training & Pay Equity Group and a member of the Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets & Unfair Competition Group. He has extensive experience representing employers in both single-plaintiff and class action matters, as well as in arbitration proceedings. He also regularly assists federal government contractors with the many special employment-related compliance challenges they face.

Guy represents employers in all aspects of employment and labor litigation and counseling, with an emphasis on non-compete and trade secrets issues, medical and disability leave matters, employee/independent contractor classification issues, and the investigation and litigation of whistleblower claims. He assists employers in negotiating and drafting executive agreements and employee mobility agreements, including non-competition, non-solicit and non-disclosure agreements, and also conducts and supervises internal investigations. He also regularly advises clients on pay equity matters, including privileged pay equity analyses.

Guy advises federal government contractors and subcontractors all aspects of Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) regulations and requirements, including preparing affirmative action plans, responding to desk audits, and managing on-site audits.

Guy is a former clerk to Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the US District Court of the District of Columbia.

Photo of Jurate Schwartz Jurate Schwartz

Jurate Schwartz is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department. She devotes her practice to counseling clients in employment matters, as well as representing employers in federal and state litigations, arbitrations and administrative proceedings.

Jurate’s practice includes providing advice on…

Jurate Schwartz is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department. She devotes her practice to counseling clients in employment matters, as well as representing employers in federal and state litigations, arbitrations and administrative proceedings.

Jurate’s practice includes providing advice on compliance with various laws affecting the workplace, including the FMLA, ADEA, Title VII, ADA, FLSA and similar state and local laws. She counsels clients on developing, implementing and enforcing personnel policies and procedures and reviewing and revising multi-state employee handbooks under federal, state and local laws. Jurate also advises clients on policy and training issues, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, employee classification, accomodation of religious beliefs, pregnancy and disability, and leaves of absence, including vacation and paid time off policies, multi-state paid sick and safe leave laws and paid family and medical leave laws. Jurate is experienced in conducting wage-and-hour audits under federal and state wage-hour laws and advising clients on classification issues. She also assists clients in drafting employment, independent contractor, consulting and separation agreements as well as various restrictive covenants.

In addition to counseling, Jurate litigates employment disputes of all types, including claims of employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblowing, breach of contract, employment-related torts and claims under federal and state wage-and-hour laws. Jurate also assists clients in matters involving trade secrets and non-competes, as well as nonsolicitation, nondisclosure agreements and other restrictive covenants.

Jurate has been ranked by Chambers USA in Florida since 2012. One client comments, “I am a client with extremely high expectations and Proskauer never ceases to exceed them. Jurate has a perfectionist personality and that fits well with how we operate.”

Jurate’s pro bono work includes service on the HR committee of a not-for-profit organization, the YMCA of South Palm Beach County, Florida, and assisting other not-for-profit organizations with employment matters, as well as her successful representation of an unaccompanied immigrant child in an asylum proceeding referred by the National Center for Refugee & Immigrant Children.