I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3286 

To encourage effective, voluntary private sector investments to recruit, employ, 

and retain men and women who have served in the United States military 

with annual presidential awards to private sector employers recognizing 

such efforts, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 29, 2015 

Mr. COOK (for himself and Ms. GABBARD) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To encourage effective, voluntary private sector investments 

to recruit, employ, and retain men and women who have 

served in the United States military with annual presidential awards to private sector employers recognizing 

such efforts, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Honoring Investments 

5 in Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans 

6 Act of 2015’’ or the ‘‘HIRE Vets Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. HIRE VETS MEDALLION PROGRAM. 

2 (a) PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.—Not later than 90 

3 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

4 of Labor shall establish, by rule, a HIRE Vets Medallion 

5 Program to solicit voluntary information from employers 

6 for purposes of recognizing, by means of an award to be 

7 designated a ‘‘HIRE Vets Medallion’’, verified efforts by 

8 such employers— 

9 (1) to recruit, employ, and retain veterans; and 

10 (2) to provide community and charitable serv11 ices supporting the veteran community. 

12 (b) APPLICATION PROCESS.—Beginning in the cal13 endar year following the calendar year in which the Sec14 retary establishes the program— 

15 (1) the Secretary shall annually— 

16 (A) solicit and accept voluntary applica17 tions from employers in order to consider 

18 whether those employers should receive a HIRE 

19 Vets Medallion; 

20 (B) review applications received in each 

21 calendar year; and 

22 (C) provide to the President a list of re23 cipients; and 

24 (2) the President shall annually— 

25 (A) notify such recipients of their awards; 

26 and 


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1 (B) at a time to coincide with the annual 

2 commemoration of Veterans Day— 

3 (i) announce the names of such recipi4 ents; 

5 (ii) recognize such recipients through 

6 publication in the Federal Register; and 

7 (iii) issue to each such recipient— 

8 (I) a HIRE Vets Medallion of the 

9 level determined under section 3; and 

10 (II) a certificate stating that 

11 such employer is entitled to display 

12 such HIRE Vets Medallion during the 

13 following calendar year, to be des14 ignated a ‘‘HIRE Vets Medallion Cer15 tificate’’. 

16 (c) TIMING.— 

17 (1) SOLICITATION PERIOD.—The Secretary 

18 shall solicit applications not later than January 31st 

19 of each calendar year for the medallions to be 

20 awarded in November of that calendar year. 

21 (2) END OF ACCEPTANCE PERIOD.—The Sec22 retary shall stop accepting applications not earlier 

23 than April 30th of each calendar year for the medal24 lions to be awarded in November of that calendar 

25 year. 


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1 (3) REVIEW PERIOD.—The Secretary shall fin2 ish reviewing applications not later than August 31st 

3 of each calendar year for the medallions to be 

4 awarded in November of that calendar year. 

5 (4) RECOMMENDATIONS TO PRESIDENT.—The 

6 Secretary shall provide to the President a list of em7 ployers to receive HIRE Vets Medallions not later 

8 than September 30th of each calendar year for the 

9 medallions to be awarded in November of that cal10 endar year. 

11 (5) NOTICE TO RECIPIENTS.—The President 

12 shall notify employers who will receive HIRE Vets 

13 Medallions not later than October 11th of each cal14 endar year for the medallions to be awarded in No15 vember of that calendar year. 

16 SEC. 3. SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS. 

17 (a) APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall review 

19 all applications received in a calendar year to deter20 mine whether an employer should receive a HIRE 

21 Vets Medallion, and, if so, of what level. 

22 (2) APPLICATION CONTENTS.—The Secretary 

23 shall require that all applications provide informa24 tion on the programs and other efforts of applicant 

25 employers during the calendar year prior to that in 


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1 which the medallion is to be awarded, including the 

2 categories and activities governing the level of award 

3 for which the applicant is eligible under subsection 

4 (b). 

5 (3) VERIFICATION.—In reviewing applications, 

6 the Secretary shall verify all information provided in 

7 the applications, to the extent that such information 

8 is relevant in determining whether or not an appli9 cant should receive a HIRE Vets Medallion or in de10 termining the appropriate level of HIRE Vets Me11 dallion for that employer to receive. 

12 (b) AWARDS.— 

13 (1) LARGE EMPLOYERS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es15 tablish four levels of HIRE Vets Medallions to 

16 be awarded to employers employing 500 or 

17 more employees, to be designated the ‘‘Bronze 

18 HIRE Vets Medallion’’, the ‘‘Silver HIRE Vets 

19 Medallion’’, the ‘‘Gold HIRE Vets Medallion’’, 

20 and the ‘‘Platinum HIRE Vets Medallion’’. 

21 (B) BRONZE HIRE VETS MEDALLION.—No 

22 employer shall be eligible to receive a Bronze 

23 HIRE Vets Medallion in a given calendar year 

24 unless— 


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1 (i) such employer has hired a veteran 

2 during the previous calendar year; 

3 (ii) such employer provides support to 

4 each of its employees who are performing 

5 active duty service in the United States 

6 National Guard or Reserve, including by 

7 providing to each such employee a guar8 antee of employment following such em9 ployee’s active duty service; and 

10 (iii) such employer provides charitable 

11 resources in support of veteran support or12 ganizations. 

13 (C) SILVER HIRE VETS MEDALLION.—No 

14 employer shall be eligible to receive a Silver 

15 HIRE Vets Medallion in a given calendar year 

16 unless— 

17 (i) such employer is eligible to receive 

18 a Bronze HIRE Vets Medallion in such 

19 year; 

20 (ii) veterans constitute not less than 5 

21 percent of all employees hired by such em22 ployer during the prior calendar year; 

23 (iii) such employer retains through 

24 the end of the prior calendar year not less 

25 than 75 percent of veteran employees hired 


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1 during the calendar year before the prior 

2 calendar year; and 

3 (iv) such employer provides a targeted 

4 training program for new veteran employ5 ees. 

6 (D) GOLD HIRE VETS MEDALLION.—No 

7 employer shall be eligible to receive a Gold 

8 HIRE Vets Medallion in a given calendar year 

9 unless— 

10 (i) such employer is eligible to receive 

11 a Silver HIRE Vets Medallion in such 

12 year; 

13 (ii) veterans constitute not less than 7 

14 percent of all employees hired by such em15 ployer during the prior calendar year; 

16 (iii) such employer has established an 

17 employee veteran organization or resource 

18 group to assist new veteran employees with 

19 integration, including coaching and men20 toring; and 

21 (iv) such employer has established 

22 programs to enhance the leadership skills 

23 of veteran employees during their employ24 ment. 


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1 (E) PLATINUM HIRE VETS MEDALLION.— 

2 No employer shall be eligible to receive a Plat3 inum HIRE Vets Medallion in a given calendar 

4 year unless— 

5 (i) such employer is eligible to receive 

6 a Gold HIRE Vets Medallion in such year; 

7 (ii) veterans constitute not less than 

8 10 percent of all employees hired by such 

9 employer during the prior calendar year; 

10 (iii) such employer retains through 

11 the end of the prior calendar year not less 

12 than 85 percent of veteran employees hired 

13 during the calendar year before the prior 

14 calendar year; 

15 (iv) such employer employs dedicated 

16 human resources professionals to support 

17 hiring and retention of veteran employees, 

18 including efforts focused on veteran hiring 

19 and training; 

20 (v) such employer provides each of its 

21 employees serving on active duty in the 

22 United States National Guard or Reserve 

23 with compensation sufficient, in combina24 tion with the employee’s active duty pay, to 

25 achieve a combined level of income comVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Aug 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3286.IH H3286

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1 mensurate with the employee’s salary prior 

2 to undertaking active duty; and 

3 (vi) such employer has established a 

4 tuition assistance program to support vet5 eran employees’ attendance in postsec6 ondary education during the term of their 

7 employment. 

8 (F) EXEMPTION FOR SMALLER EMPLOY9 ERS.—An employer shall be deemed to meet the 

10 requirements of subparagraph (E)(iv) if such 

11 employer— 

12 (i) employs 5,000 or fewer employees; 

13 and 

14 (ii) employs at least one human re15 sources professional whose regular work 

16 duties include those described under sub17 paragraph (E)(iv). 

18 (G) ADDITIONAL CRITERIA.—The Sec19 retary may provide, by rule, additional criteria 

20 with which to determine qualifications for re21 ceipt of each level of HIRE Vets Medallion. 

22 (2) SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED EMPLOYERS.— 

23 The Secretary shall establish similar awards in order 

24 to recognize achievements in supporting veterans 

25 by— 


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1 (A) employers with 50 or fewer employees; 

2 and 

3 (B) employers with more than 50 but 

4 fewer than 500 employees. 

5 (c) DESIGN BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall es6 tablish the shape, form, and metallic content of each 

7 HIRE Vets Medallion. 

8 SEC. 4. DISPLAY OF AWARD. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The recipient of a HIRE Vets Me10 dallion may— 

11 (1) publicly display such medallion through the 

12 end of the calendar year following receipt of such 

13 medallion; and 

14 (2) publicly display the HIRE Vets Medallion 

15 Certificate issued in conjunction with such medal16 lion. 

17 (b) UNLAWFUL DISPLAY PROHIBITED.—It is unlaw18 ful for any employer to publicly display a HIRE Vets Me19 dallion— 

20 (1) if such employer did not receive such medal21 lion through the HIRE Vets Medallion Program; or 

22 (2) after the end of the calendar year following 

23 the calendar year in which such medallion was 

24 issued to such employer through the HIRE Vets Me25 dallion Program. 


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1 SEC. 5. APPLICATION FEE AND FUNDING. 

2 (a) FEE AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may assess a 

3 reasonable fee on employers that apply for receipt of a 

4 HIRE Vets Medallion. 

5 (b) FUND ESTABLISHED.—There is established in 

6 the Treasury of the United States a separate account for 

7 the deposit of fees collected under subsection (a), to be 

8 designated the ‘‘HIRE Vets Medallion Award Fund’’. 

9 (c) DEPOSIT.—The Secretary shall deposit any fees 

10 collected pursuant to subsection (a) into the HIRE Vets 

11 Medallion Award Fund. 

12 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 (1) SOURCES OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

14 (A) FIRST YEAR.—There are authorized to 

15 be appropriated for the first fiscal year in which 

16 applications are to be solicited under section 

17 2(b) such sums as may be necessary to carry 

18 out this Act in such fiscal year. 

19 (B) FOLLOWING YEARS.—There is author20 ized to be appropriated from the HIRE Vets 

21 Medallion Award Fund, for each fiscal year fol22 lowing a fiscal year in which fees are collected 

23 under subsection (a), an amount equal to the 

24 total fees collected under subsection (a) during 

25 such prior fiscal year. 


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1 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur2 suant to paragraph (1) are authorized to remain 

3 available until expended. 

4 (3) USE.—Amounts appropriated pursuant to 

5 paragraph (1) shall be used for carrying out the 

6 HIRE Vets Medallion Program. 

7 SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

8 (a) REPORTS.—Beginning not later than two years 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

10 submit to Congress annual reports on— 

11 (1) the fees collected from applicants for HIRE 

12 Vets Medallions in the prior year and any changes 

13 in fees to be proposed in the present year; 

14 (2) the cost of administering the HIRE Vets 

15 Medallion Program in the prior year; 

16 (3) the number of applications for HIRE Vets 

17 Medallions received in the prior year; and 

18 (4) the HIRE Vets Medallions awarded in the 

19 prior year, including the name of each employer to 

20 whom a HIRE Vets Medallion was awarded and the 

21 level of medallion awarded to each such employer. 

22 (b) COMMITTEES.—The Secretary shall provide the 

23 reports required under subsection (a) to the Chairman and 

24 Ranking Member of— 


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1 (1) the Committees on Education and the 

2 Workforce and Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 

3 Representatives; and 

4 (2) the Committees on Health, Education, 

5 Labor, and Pensions and Veterans’ Affairs of the 

6 Senate. 

7 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (a) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ has the 

10 meaning given such term under section 4303 of title 38, 

11 United States Code, except that such term does not in12 clude— 

13 (1) the Federal Government; 

14 (2) any State, as defined in such section; or 

15 (3) any foreign state. 

16 (b) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the 

17 Secretary of Labor. 

18 (c) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the meaning 

19 given such term under section 101 of title 38, United 

20 States Code. 

Æ 


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