San Gabriel Valley : Incentive to Hire Veterans

San Gabriel Valley employers can be reimbursed for 50% of the starting hourly wage of a new employee who is a veteran, under a new federal program.

The $75-million national program allows employers to be reimbursed for 50% of the employee’s starting hourly wage, and up to $500 for tools and equipment when a veteran is hired. The maximum reimbursement is $12,000 if the employee is a disabled veteran, and $10,000 for employers hiring all other veterans.

To be eligible for the program, veterans must meet at least one of the following three requirements: be discharged after Aug. 2, 1990, and with more than 90 days of service; have a service-related disability; be unemployed for eight out of the last 15 weeks and have military skills that are not readily transferable to the private sector.

To qualify, employers must agree to hire a veteran and provide that employee with at least six months, and not more than 18 months, of training. The job must be a full-time, permanent job; it cannot be seasonal, intermittent or temporary. Jobs with commission as the primary salary also do not qualify.

Administered by the Veterans Administration and monitored by local state Employment Development Departments, the program is part of the federal Service Members Occupational Conversion and Training Act of 1992. The act is intended to help former soldiers find employment during military downsizing.

Information: the veteran employment representative at one of the four Employment Development Department offices in the San Gabriel Valley: West Covina (818) 814-8236; Pasadena (818) 304-7947; Pomona (909) 593-4901 and El Monte (818) 350-6500.