Equal Opportunity Compliance and Title IX

Veteran and Individuals with Disabilities Hiring Assistance

Veteran Hiring and Translating Skills

As a federal contractor, Michigan Tech must comply with the requirements of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA). These requirements prohibit discrimination in employment against protected veterans, requires employers to take affirmative action to recruit, hire, promote and retain veterans, and to establish annual hiring benchmarks.

Veteran Benchmark for hiring

The Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) annual hiring benchmark for protected veterans as of March 31, 2024 is 5.2%.  This benchmark is used to evaluate the effectiveness of outreach, recruitment and representation of veterans. To help reach the required benchmark, proactive steps should be used in the recruitment process.

Search Committees and Translating Skills

Include veteran employees on your search committee to help recruit, review resumes, and translate skills and abilities. 

Reviewing and Translating Military Skills to Civilian Skills

Reviewing materials from a veteran applicant may take some extra effort. Time should be taken to read the materials and translate military skills to civilian skills. The following resources are available to assist with translating skills.

Career One Stop

Employers can use the Civilian-to-Military Occupation Translator to identify which military occupations (including Military Occupation Specialty, or MOS and MOC codes) best match their civilian job openings on the basis of education, training, skills, and experience.

O*Net

The O*Net Online Military Crosswalk allows searching by military codes or job titles to cross reference to civilian equivalent.

Veterans Can Add Incredible Value to the Workplace

Along with the following list, this article addresses more about the Benefits of Hiring Veterans.

Military skills are generally taught and experienced

  • Flexibility: a veteran can work in a team and alone. They are taught to improvise.

  • Experience with technology: military personnel use cutting edge technology.
  • Conflict resolution: veterans have the ability to identify conflict, assess the situation and implement a variety of solutions.
  • Communication/Interpersonal skills: are essential to military personnel and they bring these skills with them.
  • Leadership skills: veterans are trained to be responsible, make decisions, influence and motivate others.
  • Organization skills, time management, ability to prioritize, multi-task: veterans understand how crucial organization skills are to meeting their objectives.

Personal Qualities

  • Dedication, reliable and responsible.
  • Confident under pressure. Can handle stress.
  • Have worked with people from different backgrounds.
  • Team player - veterans spend years working as a team
  • Ability to listen.
  • Punctual.

Veteran Recruitment Resources

An extra effort should be made to advertise positions in publications to reach veterans. There are sources where all Michigan Tech jobs are automatically posted. These sources are listed on the National and Online Recruiting and Advertising web page.

EEO Tagline

All job postings, including social media, must include the EEO Tagline.

Individuals with Disabilities

Michigan Tech must comply with the requirements of Section 503 the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. These requirements prohibit discrimination in employment against individuals with disabilities, requires employers to take affirmative action to recruit, hire, promote and retain disabled individuals in the workforce, and to try to meet the annual utilization benchmark.

Individuals with Disabilities Utilization Benchmark

"The utilization goal is not a rigid and inflexible quota which must be met, nor is it to be considered either a ceiling or a floor for the employment of particular groups. Quotas are expressly forbidden."

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has set an annual utilization benchmark of 7% for each job group in a contractor's Affirmative Action Program (AAP). When the benchmark is not met, a contractor should review their employment policies/procedures, outreach/recruitment efforts, training of hiring managers, and any other factors that could be creating an impediment to equal employment opportunity.

Reasonable Accommodations in the hiring process

"A contractor is required to make reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of a qualified individual with a disability, unless the contractor can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its business."

Current employees and job applicants can request reasonable accommodations. Please visit the Access and Disability web page for informaiton on requesting a reasonable accommodation.

Individuals with Disabilities Recruitment Resources

An extra effort should be made to advertise positions in publications to reach individuals with disabilities. There are sources where all Michigan Tech jobs are automatically posted. These sources are listed on the National and Online Recruiting and Advertising web page.

EEO Tagline

All job postings, including social media, must include the EEO Tagline.