Military Status: Why should I report my military/veteran status?

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County is a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended by the Jobs for Veterans Act of 2002, 38 U.S.C. 4212 (VEVRAA), which requires government contractors to take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment: (1) Active duty wartime or campaign badge veterans; (2) Armed Forces service medal veterans; (3) disabled veterans; and (4) recently separated veterans. These classifications are defined as follows:

An "Active Duty Wartime or Campaign Badge Veteran" is a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war¹, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed Forces Service Medal Veteran" is a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

A "Disabled Veteran" is one of the following: (1) A veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay woudl be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or (2) a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-related disability.

A "Recently Separated Veteran" is any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service.

The above information is used to count self-reporting employees in each category. As a government contractor subject to VEVRAA, the Human Resources Department of UMBC is required to submit a report to the United States Department of Labor each year identifying the number of our employees belonging to each specified veteran category.

When self-reporting, employees also have the ability to select one of the statuses below in the event that none of the above veteran statuses apply.

Active (currently serving)
Dependent (child of a parent who served or is serving in the military)
None (No Military Service)
Reserves (currently serving in the reserves)
Served (has military service; for faculty and staff employees, if you select 'Served', you will be prompted to select your Veteran status²)

¹Eligible Wartime Periods - Under the current law, VA recognizes the following wartime periods to determine eligibility for VA benefits:

Mexican Border Period (May 9, 1916 - April 5, 1917 for Veterans who served in Mexico, on its borders, or adjacent waters)
World War I (April 6, 1917 - November 11, 1918)
World War II (December 7, 1941 - December 31, 1946)
Korean Conflict (June 27, 1950 - January 31, 1955)
Vietnam Era (February 28, 1961 - May 7, 1975 for Veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam that period; otherwise August 5, 1964 - May 7, 1975)
Gulf War (August 2, 1990 - through a future date to be set by law or Presidential Proclamation)

²Not a Protected Veteran is an option within the Veteran status field. "Not a Protected Veteran" is classified as a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable and is not classified as one of the veteran statuses above (Active Duty Wartime/Campaign Badge Veteran, Armed Forces Service Medal Veteran, Disabled Veteran or Recently Separated Veteran).

Employees with a disability who are seeking an accommodation must contact the Accessibility Manager by email at slazar@umbc.edu and provide supportive documentation from a licensed health care provider to start the accommodation process. Information provided at this level only informs the data gathering process, and may be amended by the employee. Questions? The Accessibility Manager can be reached at 410-455-5745.