The month of November is a time to celebrate Veterans Day. This year Veterans Day falls on Saturday, November 11 (Friday, November 10 is the federal holiday to celebrate it). There are more than 19 million veterans, and one or more of them may be a good fit for your company. Here’s what veterans offer to employers:
Continuing pool of workers
Approximately 230, 000 to 245, 000 service men and women leave the military* each year. Given the increased tightening of the job market, these individuals are available for work in the private sector and offer much to employees (as explained below).
Skills
Veterans may have the skills and education you’re seeking for your company. There are “hard skills, ” such as technology skills they’ve learned that can translate in the private sector. And there are “soft skills, ” such as leadership and decision-making, that are also valuable to a company.
Reliability
As a rule, you can count on veterans to display a good work ethic by showing up for work on time to do their jobs. What’s more, you probably don’t need a background check once you verify their service; the government has essentially vetted them for you.
Tax credit
You may be eligible for a work opportunity tax credit for hiring certain veterans. A qualified veteran is a veteran certified as being any of the following:
- A member of a family receiving assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (food stamps) for at least 3 months during the first year of employment.
- Unemployed for a period totaling at least 4 weeks (whether or not consecutive) but less than 6 months in the 1-year period prior to the date of hire.
- Unemployed for a period or periods totaling at least 6 months (whether or not consecutive) in the one-year period ending on the date of hire.
- Entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability and hired not more than one year after being discharged or released from active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces.
- Entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability and unemployed for a period totaling at least 6 months (whether or not consecutive) in the 1-year period that ended on the date of hire.
The credit is 40% of eligible wages, which for a qualified veteran is limited to the following amounts:
- $6, 000 for a qualified veteran certified as being either (a) a member of a family receiving SNAP assistance (food stamps) for at least a 3-month period during the 15-month period ending on the hiring date, or (b) unemployed for a period or periods totaling at least 4 weeks (whether or not consecutive) but less than 6 months in the 1-year period ending on the hiring date.
- $12, 000 for a qualified veteran certified as being entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability and hired not more than 1 year after being discharged or released from active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces.
- $14, 000 for a qualified veteran certified as being unemployed for a period or periods totaling at least 6 months (whether or not consecutive) in the 1-year period ending on the hiring date.
- $24, 000 for a qualified veteran certified as being entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability, and unemployed for a period or periods totaling at least 6 months (whether or not consecutive), in the 1-year period ending on the hiring date.
There’s no limit to the number of veterans with respect to which you can claim a credit. But when hiring a veteran, be sure that he/she completes Form 8850 so you can submit it to your state employment security agency (SESA) within 28 days of starting work. If you don’t, you can’t claim the work opportunity credit even if you are otherwise entitled to it.
Conclusion
There are many other good reasons to hire veterans. You can find them in the Veterans Employment Toolkit from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
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