California employers are working with the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) to help ensure veteran employees are connected to the state and federal benefits they have earned through military service. CalVet’s growing list of employer partners includes Aerojet, Bechtel Corporation, Cintas Corporation, Comcast, Health Net Federal Services, HP, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Merck, Oracle, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Republic Services, Southwest Airlines, State Farm, TASC Inc., United Airlines, United Rentals, Verizon, Warner Bros. Entertainment, and many others in the defense, energy, technology, telecommunications, transportation, finance, health care, pharmaceutical, media, entertainment, and retail industries.

With CalVet’s help, employers’ staffs are educating employees about CalVet and about other programs and services available to veterans and their families. CalVet then contacts veterans who request assistance, assesses their needs, and helps get them connected to their benefits. Those benefits may include compensation and pension payments for a service-connected disability, education benefits (including free college tuition for dependents), health benefits (including free assistive devices, like eye glasses and hearing aids), housing, farm and home loans, survivor benefits, and many others. Besides providing information and resources, CalVet can help veterans navigate the often complicated and frustrating benefit application processes.

It’s a win-win situation,” said CalVet Secretary Peter Gravett. “Veterans’ benefits help men and women successfully move forward after military life. At the same time, they improve the business climate in California. Veterans’ benefits bring hundreds of millions of dollars into the state every year and offset millions of dollars annually in the cost of veteran care that would otherwise be borne by local communities. Veteran benefits help reduce veteran jobless and homeless numbers and increase enrollment in California colleges and universities,” said Gravett. Even still, less than 15% of eligible California veterans are taking advantage of their compensation and pension benefits and only 36% are using their health benefits.

Without a marketing or media budget, getting the word out is one of CalVet’s biggest challenges. That’s why employer partnerships are so helpful. Placing a CalVet article in an employee newsletter or sending CalVet information to Twitter and Facebook followers and friends costs an employer nothing but can expand CalVet’s outreach efforts exponentially as the information shared is then passed on to others.

Employers are increasingly interested is hiring veterans because they make such great employees. Veterans are trained to be mission focused, team oriented, responsible, accountable and punctual. They understand and respect chain of command and follow direction well. CalVet is helping employer partners connect with veteran job seekers by placing their careers/jobs page links on the Employment page of the CalVet web site. If pending state and federal legislation passes, employers who hire veterans may be entitled to special tax breaks or other incentives.

To find out how your organization can become an employer partner and support CalVet’s efforts to reach and assist California veterans, contact Carolyn Ballou at 916-653-1355 or carolyn.ballou@calvet.ca.gov.