US Lawmakers cut time off work for disabled vets

A House subcommittee has drastically scaled back legislation to protect the jobs of disabled veterans who need time off from work for service-connected medical treatment.

The House Veterans’ Affairs economic opportunity subcommittee on Thursday approved a bill, HR 3524, barring employers from discriminating against disabled veterans in terms of employment, seniority and benefits if they take time off for treatment of their military-related health issues.

However, it would not cover workers hired for brief periods if “there is no reasonable expectation” of permanent or extended employment. And an employer could still let a worker go if keeping the disabled veteran becomes “impossible or unreasonable.” Business with 11 or fewer employees would not have any obligations under the law.

As originally introduced by Rep. Bruce Braley of Iowa, the subcommittee’s ranking Democrat, the bill provided for veterans to be absent from work for a cumulative 12 weeks over a 12-month period without fear of losing their jobs, although an employer would not have to pay them for all of the time off.

The revised bill, which passed the subcommittee by voice vote, is far more limited. It provides no additional time off for anyone also covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act, which covers people working for businesses with 50 or more employees and gives them up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave.

Under the revised Disabled Veterans Employment Protection Act, those not covered by FMLA would be eligible for four weeks of unpaid leave without fear of losing a job if the business has at least 12 employees. Those covered by FMLA could take no more than the 12 weeks provided under that law.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., the economic opportunity panel chairman, said the revisions were done “to strike the proper balance between businesses and employees.”

Ryan Gallucci of Veterans of Foreign Wars, who last week warned that making employers provide 12 weeks of unpaid leave to disabled veterans could discourage companies from hiring the veterans, said modifications answer some of his concerns, but he still doesn’t think the bill addresses the issue of needing time off for medical treatment.

“The problem has to do with the VA’s limited appointments,” he said. “VA is basically telling people you have to take time off during a workday for an appointment, which is not good for the veteran or the employer. If they expanded their hours to evenings and weekends, it would be better for veterans trying to hold down a job and take care of their medical needs”.