SHRM: Support the Voluntary Veterans’ Preference Employment Policy Act

SHRM is calling on California to update its veterans’ hiring preference exception because it applies only to Vietnam War-era veterans and offers protection to employers solely against gender discrimination claims.

“Consequently, this hiring preference does not extend to veterans who have served since the Vietnam War era and does not reflect the diverse nature of the military,” wrote Emily M. Dickens, SHRM chief of staff, head of government affairs, and corporate secretary, and Michael Kalt, government affairs director for the California State Council of SHRM (CalSHRM), in a letter to California state Sen. Kelly Seyarto, R-Murrieta, who has sponsored legislation to update the law.

In a letter sent June 18, Dickens and Kalt voiced their support for SB 73, which would modernize the hiring preference exception and enable private employers to provide broader preference to all veterans, regardless of when they served.

“SB 73 allows businesses to establish veteran-friendly hiring practices without fear of legal action and empowers them to give back to those who have sacrificed so much in service of our nation,” Seyarto said when he introduced the legislation. “We need to pass practical policies that help our heroes.”

According to the 2020 U.S. Census, California has the largest veteran population in the nation, with nearly 2 million former service members in the state.

“SHRM and CalSHRM recognize veterans’ valuable skills and experience as a solution to the ongoing recruitment challenges faced by employers—as SHRM’s 2024 Talent Trends research shows that 75 percent of organizations have struggled to fill full-time positions in the last 12 months,” Dickens and Kalt wrote.

Similar bills have recently been enacted into law in 37 other states.

SB 73 is scheduled for a hearing by the California Assembly Judiciary Committee on June 25.

SHRM and CalSHRM are keenly aware of the difficulty some veterans face when searching for employment and believe that allowing an employer to exercise a voluntary hiring preference exception to all veterans is one small way to thank them for their service to the U.S. SB 73’s establishment of a voluntary preference policy for employers, should they wish to exercise this preference, is a fair and meaningful approach to assisting veterans in obtaining gainful employment, according to SHRM and CalSHRM.

SHRM urges its California SHRM members to take action in support of the Voluntary Veterans’ Preference Employment Policy Act. This activation is only available to California SHRM members.