HIRE Vets Act

Visit the website https://www.hirevets.gov/.

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

As described in the Act, 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. Verification of these criteria includes a self-attestation by the applicant and a check for violations of veteran related DOL labor laws by the U.S. Department of Labor.

A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published on August 18, 2017. DOL’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) thoroughly evaluated and carefully considered all comments received. The Final Rule announced by the Secretary on November 9, 2017 is available for viewing on the Federal Register website. The Final Rule will become effective in January 2018 and VETS will begin accepting applications for this award in January 2019.