VA HR the Purpose of This Report

VA HR

The purpose of this report is to accurately describe the systems and procedures at the Veterans Administration (VA). This report will fully analyze the history of legislation and court decisions that have implications to the agency's personnel management. Additionally this report will examine the major components of the agency's human resource system's goals and practices regarding hiring and recruitment practices. Finally the report will list recommendations that can improve the agency's success of recruiting and training a diversified workforce.

Laws Affecting the Agency

It is first important to examine the history of the VA itself before examining the more specific human resources department section of the Veterans Administration. According to the VA's website, the formation of this agency in the federal government has demonstrated the political views of this government towards the soldiers who fight the wars for this country. As a result of this relationship, laws, rules and doctrine have been introduced through legislative and other official means to establish the VA has a lawful and respectful representation of this country and the attitudes towards veterans these people take demonstrates the important characteristics of our country as a collective unit.

Veterans have been around since the start of this country and taking care of these individuals also has a unique history. The VA's website continued by suggesting that "Congress established a new system of veterans benefits when the United States entered World War I in 1917. Included were programs for disability compensation, insurance for service persons and veterans, and vocational rehabilitation for the disabled. By the 1920s, the various benefits were administered by three different Federal agencies: the Veterans Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers." Later on in 1930 more formal changes were enacted to establish this institution. The Veterans Administration arrived in 1930.

Hiring practices at the VA are regulated by several different federal laws, codes and statutes. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race color, religion sex or national origin. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 protects people who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older.

Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (ADA), which prohibit employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in the private sector, and in state and local governments applies to the VA as well. This information can be found in the United States Code of Law. Additionally sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities who work in the federal government, this applies to the VA as well

Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), which prohibits employment discrimination based on genetic information about an applicant, employee, or former employee applies to this organization in its hiring practices. The Civil Rights Act of 1991, which, among other things, provides monetary damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination also must be obeyed and followed (Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination, EEOC).

Personnel Recruitment and Hiring Practices

The VA released a Human Resource Strategic plan for the years of 2005-2010. This document highlighted the special laws and rules this organization must follow in order to continue its operations. According to this plan the mission statement is as follows: "Recruit, develop, and retain a competent, committed, and diverse workforce that provides high quality service to veterans and their families. -- The VA Human Resource community is a dynamic, innovative, flexible organization that thoroughly understands VA's business lines. VA Human Resources ensures that VA has the right people, in the right jobs, with the right skills and abilities, with a true sense of personal value, and a commitment to providing high quality service to our Nation's veterans "( VA Human Resource Strategic Plan, 2010).

Contained within this mission are principles and objectives that aim to follow the specific rules and laws associated with hiring practices. The VA Human Resources Department listed 6 explicit goals to help determine their specific roles within government. These goals are listed as follows:

1. Strategic Alignment- Align HR with missions, goals and organizational objectives.

2. Workforce and Succession Planning and Development: Ensure workforce has the necessary skills to meet the needs of today's veterans.

3. Leadership and Knowledge Management- Effectively manage people and ensure a continuity of leadership. Agencies will provide programmed core competency training for supervisors and leaders to assure that the people in line for leadership positions have the training they need to perform. Agencies will also be formalizing the programmatic links between training and career progression in leadership development programs .

4. Results-Oriented Performance Culture- Agencies will have a diverse and results oriented management system.

5. Talent- Develop strategies that address mission critical skills knowledge and competency gaps and deficiencies in occupations and competencies needed in the workforce.

6. Accountability- Human capital decisions will be guided by data driven results oriented planning and accountability system.

Ethics and Diversity Training

The VA has both strengths and weaknesses in its ethics and diversity training programs throughout the institution. To help with this problem the VA has instituted the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) to manage the many tasks that accompany ensuring the standards are met.

According to its website the ODI "supports the Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration in workforce diversity issues. The office also supports the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Under Secretaries, and Assistant Secretaries in their actions to achieve and sustain a diverse workforce." This part of the VA has been successful in maintaining these high standards and have been awarded several awards that highlight this accomplishment. DiversityBusiness.com selected VA as one of America's Top 25 Government Agencies for Multicultural Business Opportunities for 2012 and VA Named by Diversity Inc. Magazine as 1 of "Top 5 Federal agencies for Diversity" (2010).

The VA ODI puts special emphasis on every conceivable type of discrimination making it a little too confusing and weak. According to the VA's Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report FY 2012 improvements can be made in this area as not all systems are completely operating at full capacity. Unfortunately sometimes the veterans themselves are often overlooked to ensure that these laws are handled in the appropriate manner.