Section 4214 of Tile 38, U.S.C. requires that agencies establish a separate affirmative action program plan for disabled veterans as defined in that section. RL has such a plan in place.

Though not required by the law, the RL EEO/Diversity Office established a Veteran's Advisory Council in 1988 in order to better meet the needs of all veterans. This Council functions similiary to other mandated Special Emphasis Programs at RL/ORP. The Veteran's Council makes recommendations, as appropriate, to the Manager and the Director of Human Resources Management, through the EEO/Diversity Manager, to insure that the Disabled Veteran's Affirmative Action Program Plan (DVAPP) objectives are met.

The Veteran's Council consists of a collateral duty (20 percent) Veteran's Program Manager and up to 12 council members who assist the Program Manager in providing recommendations on continuing implementation of the Department's policy of ensuring equal opportunity for veterans; particularly those disabled veterans covered by Title 38. Specific objectives of RL/ORP's DVAPP are to:

1. Assess the employment status of disabled veterans (with emphasis on those veterans who are 30 percent or more disabled) within RL/ORP.
2. Promote efforts which will assure that sources of disabled veterans (including Vietnam Era Veterans) are included in ongoing recruitment efforts.
3. Assure that disabled veterans, including Vietnam Era Veterans, are afforded an equal opportunity to compete for merit promotions, awards, and training opportunities.
4. Maintain ongoing evaluation systems capable of determining program status and direction through assessment of internal data collection and analysis