This Directive was canceled July 22, 2004.

U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration

June 28, 1996

Chapter 2: Employment
Section 5: Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action program (DVAAP)

Par.

1. Purpose

2. Scope

3. Background

4. References

5. Policy

6. Definitions

7. Responsibilities

8. Program Administration

9. Appointment Procedures

10. Accomplishment Report

11. Certification

1. PURPOSE. To establish the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action Program (DVAAP) for the employment and advancement of disabled veterans.

2. SCOPE. This section applies to all FHWA organizational elements.

3. BACKGROUND. Section 403 of the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended, requires each agency to develop a plan to promote employment and job advancement opportunities within that agency for qualified disabled veterans.

4. REFERENCES

   1. Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act of 1974, as amended (38 U.S.C. 2014),

   2. Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 720, Subpart C,

   3. Title 5, United States Code, (U.S.C.), Section 2108,

   4. Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Parts 307, 315, Subchapter B, and 316.

   5. PMM Chapter 2, Section 4, Hiring, Placement, and Advancement of Persons with Disabilities.

5. POLICY. It is the policy of the FHWA to ensure that qualified disabled veterans are given full and fair treatment in recruitment, placement and advancement.

6. DEFINITIONS

   1. Disabled Veteran

      (1) a veteran who is entitled to compensation under laws administered by the Veterans Administration, or

      (2) a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

   2. Veteran - a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable (Section 101(2) of Title 38, U.S.C).

7. RESPONSIBILITIES.

   1. Director, Office of Personnel and Training (OPT). The Director has the primary responsibility for establishing and overseeing the FHWA's DVAAP, for designating a Coordinator for the DVAAP in the Washington Headquarters, and for ensuring that adequate resources are devoted to the program.

   2. Regional Administrators and Federal Lands Highway Division Engineers. These officials are responsible for assimilating the DVAAP into their respectiveorganizations to ensure FHWA-wide emphasis and program accomplishment. They are responsible for identifying a Coordinator for the DVAAP in theirorganizations and for ensuring that adequate resources are devoted to the program.

   3. Coordinators for the DVAAP. Coordinators are responsible for assisting the Administrator, Regional Administrators, and Federal Lands Highway Division Engineers in the discharge of their responsibilities through continuing participation in and surveillance of program activities.

8. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION

   1. The OPT will:

      (1) develop an affirmative action plan containing specific action items and strategies covering both the Washington Headquarters and the field. The plan, which will be reviewed annually and revised as necessary, will cover the period October 1 to September 30 of each year;

      (2) ensure that adequate guidance and instructions are provided to Washington Headquarters and field operating elements, and that Washington Headquarters and field operating elements understand and are carrying out their program responsibilities;

      (3) review and consolidate annual accomplishment reports;

      (4) submit the annual accomplishment report and required certification to the Office of Personnel, Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST); and

      (5) develop and collect the necessary statistical information for the annual accomplishment report and make this information available to Washington Headquarters and field operating elementsfor monitoring and verification purposes.

   2. Coordinators for the DVAAP, in conjunction with their organizational heads and their servicing personnel officers, will:

      (1) implement appropriate actions contained in the FHWA-wide DVAAP plan within their organizations;

      (2) analyze work force data supplied annually by the Office of Personnel Management and any other data that are relevant (e.g., agency component work force data or veteran unemployment figures) in order to identify any problems or deficiencies in the employment and advancement of disabled veterans;

      (3) on a yearly basis, develop, revise and/or redirect strategies designed to address each noted problem or deficiency;

      (4) conduct a continuing program of affirmative action for disabled veterans, giving emphasis to those who are 30 percent or more disabled (affirmative action encompasses recruiting, hiring, and advancement, and personnel programs supporting these activities, e.g., training and career counseling); and

      (5) provide OPT with a report of their organization's activities twice each fiscal year, reflecting the implementation of the DVAAP plan. (See paragraph 10)

9. APPOINTMENT PROCEDURES. Regular competitive procedures should be used to employ disabled veterans. However, special appointment procedures are available for:

   1. Disability of 30 Percent or More. A veteran who has been rated by either a military department or the Veterans Administration as having a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more may be selected, without competitive examination,for a temporary limited or a term appointment to any position in the competitive service for which he or she is qualified. The veteran's disability may be documented by a notice of retirement or discharge from active military service with a disability rating of 30 percent or more, dated at any time, or by a notice of compensable disability rating of 30 percent or more from the Veterans Administration, dated within the preceding year. In addition, pursuant to 5 CFR Subchapter B, Subpart G, §315.707, an agency may convert the employment of a disabled veteran, who meets the conditions above, to career or career-conditional employment from a time-limited appointment of more than 60 days.

   2. Vietnam Era Veterans. Disabled veterans may also be appointed under a Vietnam era veterans appointment. See 5 CFR Part 307. In addition, those disabled veterans meeting the requirements for a Veterans Readjustment Appointment are also eligible for non-competitive temporary limited and term appointments to comparable positions under the provisions of 5 CFR Part 316, Subpart C, §316.302. The conversion provisions to career-conditional appointment are the same as those mentioned in paragraph 9a above.

   3. Employment of a Disabled Veteran who Completes Training Under Chapter 31, Title 38, U.S. Code. Under 5 CFR Part 315, §315.604, a disabled veteran who completes a course of on-the-job training in a Federal agency prescribed by the Veterans Administration under Chapter 31, Title 38, U.S. Code, may be appointed non-competitively to the position, or class of positions, for which trained, by any agency having a suitable vacancy.

10. ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORT. The FHWA will prepare semiannual reports during the fiscal year (RCS HPT-01-38) on the DVAAP. These reports will cover the preceding six month period. Regional and Federal Lands Division Offices will submit reports to the Personnel Operations Division by April 15 and October 15. The Personnel Operations Division will submit consolidated reports to OP, OST, by April 30 and October 30. Accomplishment reports must contain the following:

    1. methods used to recruit and employ disabled veterans, especially those who are 30 percent or more disabled,

    2. methods used to provide or improve internal advancement opportunities for disabled veterans,

    3. a description of how the activities were monitored, reviewed, and evaluated, and

    4. an explanation of the organization's progress in implementing its DVAAP plan during the fiscal year.

11. CERTIFICATION. The Director, OPT, must certify annually to the Office of Personnel Management, OST, that FHWA has an up-to-date DVAAP plan.

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