Touro University International Essays (1393 words) -

Touro University International James L. White ETH 501 Module 4, Case Assignment Dr. Steven J. Gold INTRODUCTION The purpose of this report is to discuss my opinion on the question "Should disabled veterans get preferential treatment over better qualified candidates who are not disabled veterans?" By discussing these topics, I hope to offer some knowledge on preferential treatment in the work place. I will conclude this report with a brief summary of the entire analysis, highlighting some of the most significant parts that the report contains. DVAAP VS Affirmative action The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) describes the Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action Program as," Veterans' preference in its present form comes from the Veterans' Preference Act of 1944, as amended, and is now codified in various provisions of title 5, United States Code. By law, veterans who are disabled or who served on active duty in the Armed Forces during certain specified time periods or in military campaigns are entitled to preference over others in hiring from competitive lists of eligible's and also in retention during reductions in force." (OPM, 2006). This tells me that as an active duty member depended upon the time frame in which I have served my country, when I become a veteran I am entitled to employment preference over my peers. The Feminist Majority Foundation defines Affirmative Action as a program that seeks, "to remedy past discrimination against women, minorities, and others by increasing the recruitment, promotion, retention, and on-the-job training opportunities in employment and by removing barriers to admission to educational institutions. Because of the long history of discrimination based on sex and race, most affirmative action programs have been directed towards improving employment and education opportunities for women and minorities." (Feminist Majority Foundation, 2000). In my own words affirmative action makes it illegal to discriminate against an individual based upon race, religion or gender. The legal origins for this comes from, "Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Executive Order 11246, as amended by Executive Order 11375 in 1967, provided the initial legal basis for affirmative action for women in employment in the United States. Title VII prohibits discrimination by any employer or labor union on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) was established to enforce Title VII, although the agency only began to enforce the sex discrimination prohibition in the late 1960s and only after intense pressure from women's organizations." (Feminist Majority Foundation, 2000). I believe that affirmative action and the Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action Program are similar. The goal with both programs is to ensure everyone has an equal right to employment without being discriminated against. For an example, in the past many women were not offered certain jobs or promotions because of their gender, in today's society we still have steps to take, however affirmative action clearly makes discriminatorily practices illegal. In 1996 Ruth Barnard from the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan had this to say about affirmative action "Yes Affirmative action was and is needed to achieve full gender equity in employment. Despite 30 years of non-discrimination law, gender prejudice and discrimination still persist...The proportion of women in regular University of Michigan faculty appointment is low, and most are in the low paid non-tenured positions." (Barnard, January 16, 2006). I can see the similarities when I look at the preferences for disabled veterans. Since the civil war veterans have struggled to find jobs after their military obligation was up. An Organization called Disabled American Veterans (DAV) had this to say about opportunities for disabled veterans, "...the wake of World War I, when thousands of American doughboys came home to an America that was not prepared to care for the carnage of war. More than 4.7 million Americans served, 53,500 were lost in combat. Accidents and illnesses (mostly from the deadly Spanish flu pandemic) took the lives of 63,000. More than 200,000 soldiers were wounded during the war. America was not prepared to go to war or face its aftermath, especially caring for the sick and wounded. Months after returning home, half of the 4 million soldiers were released from military service. With the country drained of its economic resources due to the war, there was little funding available to help war veterans in search of employment and medical care. Within a year, 4 million Americans were jobless, broke and past hope. Recession and unemployment crippled the American economy. As a result, veterans were left to fend for themselves, especially those who were disabled. Jobs were almost nonexistent