Bill would toughen penalties against employers discriminating against veterans

As Memorial Day approaches, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) has introduced legislation designed to toughen penalties against employers who discriminate against veterans when they return from their tours of duty.

"These are brave men and women who should not have to worry about their jobs when they are defending our country," Casey said Wednesday. "The least we can do is make sure when they get home they are not discriminated against."

Federal law already requires companies to reemploy armed-services members promptly, and bans discrimination against them because of their past, present, or future service. But Casey's measure, the Servicemembers Access to Justice Act, would augment the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 to make it easier for veterans to take action if they think they have been harmed.

In 2010, Casey said, the U.S. Labor Department investigated nearly 1,500 cases of discrimination. Particularly disturbing to him, he said, were cases in which the employer was the federal government or a contractor.

Cosponsored by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.), the bill also would ask the Government Accountability Office to investigate whether the human-resource departments of federal agencies are being properly trained to understand employment laws dealing with veterans.

Though military discipline and teamwork skills make veterans attractive on the job market, they sometimes face problems with employers understanding how military experience translates into skills useful to civilian workplaces, employment experts have said.

As a group, veterans tend to have a lower unemployment rate than the general population. In April, the national jobless rate was 7.7 percent, not adjusted to reflect seasonal patterns of employment. The rate for vets was 7.1 percent, according to U.S. Labor Department data.

But the unemployment rate for younger veterans, those who have served since 2001, is considerably higher than the rate for the nation: 9.2 percent compared with 7.7 percent. In general, younger people have fared worse in the job market. In April, the national unemployment rate for 18- and 19-year-olds was 22.5 percent, while the unemployment rate for workers 20 to 24 was 12.6 percent.

Casey said protecting veterans is particularly important in Pennsylvania, which has the largest Army National Guard in the nation, according to the Pennsylvania National Guard Military Museum.

Casey produced 2010 unemployment figures for veterans by county. Veteran unemployment in Crawford County near Erie topped 20 percent. It was 16.6 percent in Philadelphia, 8.8 percent in Bucks County, 9.5 percent in Chester County, 8.2 in Delaware County, and 10.3 percent in Montgomery County.

Contact Jane M. Von Bergen at 215-854-2769, jvonbergen@phillynews.com or @JaneVonBergen on Twitter. Read her Jobbing blog at www.philly.com/jobbing.