Every Veterans Day, we join the nation in pausing to salute those who served. But we know that for many veterans, the battle doesn’t end when they come home.
Returning to civilian life should be a new beginning. Instead, some veterans experience being ignored for promotions, blamed for “performance” issues when they ask for basic accommodations for a service-connected disability, or watching their careers get completely sidelined.
The statistics are sobering.
- On any given night in 2024, over 32,882 veterans experienced homelessness in the U.S. This figure reflects the impact of poverty, health issues, and legal and institutional barriers. (U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development)
- More than half of veterans who are homeless live with a disability. (Disabled Veterans National Foundation)
If you or someone you know is facing disabled veterans discrimination in hiring, promotions, accommodations, or retaliation – we’ll explain which laws protect you, which steps you should take, and how a disability lawyer can help.
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What is Disabled Veterans Discrimination?
In order to understand what qualifies as disabled veterans discrimination, we should first answer the question, “What does protected veteran mean?” Then we can put the pieces together.
Protected Veterans
A protected veteran is a veteran who falls into one of four classifications which provide legal protections from employment discrimination.
- Disabled veterans
- Recently separated veterans
- Active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran
- Armed forces service medal veteran
The U.S. Department of Labor has a straightfoward explainer that helps you determine if you meet the criteria for one of these classifications.
Disabled Veterans Discrimination
Disabled veterans discrimination occurs when veterans are treated differently at work because of their service history or related disability. It’s not just the overt cases – like being told outright you’re “too broken” for the job. It’s also the subtle ones, like never being considered for leadership roles, being excluded from projects, or being penalized for needing a medical appointment connected to service injuries.
This type of veteran discrimination can happen during hiring, promotion, training, or day-to-day work. Employers sometimes see veterans as “risky” employees or assume a protected veteran with PTSD can’t handle stress, when in fact that assumption is both insulting and illegal.
Other times, veterans are pressured not to ask for accommodations, or are told they “shouldn’t expect special treatment.” These narratives are damaging, unlawful, and need to be challenged.
When asked “Are veterans a protected class?,” the law is clear – yes, they are. Veterans and service members are safeguarded under multiple federal government protections. But without enforcement, too many employers violate these rights. This is why identifying disabled veterans discrimination early, documenting it, and seeking help is critical to ending these unfair practices.
Examples of Veteran Discrimination
The stories vary, but the themes are heartbreakingly familiar:
- A Marine with PTSD requests occasional remote work during flare-ups. His supervisor calls it a “lack of commitment,” initiates discipline, and later fires him under vague performance claims.
- A Navy veteran with hearing loss asks for amplified headsets in meetings. The company denies it, saying “everyone else does fine.” Meanwhile, she gets excluded from key conversations and opportunities.
- An Air Force tech specialist, now in civilian life with mobility impairment, applies for promotion. He’s told he’s “not up to the job physically,” despite doing the same tasks before deployment.
- An Army reservist returns after duty expecting to resume her job but finds her position eliminated and her colleagues told she “took too long to come back.”
Other forms of disabled veterans discrimination are even more subtle:
- A veteran applicant has all the right skills but sees job postings coded with “must be able to handle stress” or “must have perfect attendance” – phrases often used to screen out those with service-related conditions.
- A protected veteran is subjected to offhand comments like “must be nice getting paid to sit at home” after taking leave for VA medical care.
- Promotions keep passing over veterans because managers assume their service-related disability will “hold them back.”
Each of these examples represents an experience that is not only unfair but that may also provide the grounds to sue for discrimination. Veterans didn’t serve in the military – the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines to come home and face barriers in their civilian careers.
What Laws Protect You From Disabled Veterans Discrimination?
Several federal and statutory protections guard against disabled veterans discrimination:
- USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act): Guards your right to return to your job after service, prohibits retaliatory treatment, and bars discrimination based on military obligations. This law applies broadly across the United States and protects reservists as well.
- ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act): Requires reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities, including veterans whose service-related conditions limit major life activities. Employers must actually work with employees to find solutions, not just dismiss requests.
- VEVRAA (Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act): Applies to federal contractors and mandates affirmative steps to recruit and protect protected veterans. This is particularly powerful because it ties compliance to federal funding.
- EEOC Guidelines: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission explicitly prohibits workplace discrimination targeting veterans. You can read more via their guidance: Protections Against Employment Discrimination for Service Members and Veterans.
Together, these laws create a strong framework for accountability. Unfortunately, many employers either don’t know the details or pretend they don’t. A common tactic is to rely on red tape, hoping veterans won’t fight back. That’s why legal help is so crucial – laws only matter when they’re enforced.
How A Disability Discrimination Lawyer Helps
Knowing your rights is one thing. Enforcing them is another. This is where a skilled disability discrimination lawyer or employment discrimination lawyer comes in.
Here’s how an attorney at Consumer Justice Law Firm can help in cases of disabled veterans discrimination:
- Case Evaluation: Your attorney can tell you whether your situation meets the legal definition of discrimination and whether you have a strong claim. Many veterans underestimate their cases.
- Gathering Evidence: Lawyers know how to collect what matters most – emails, HR notes, performance reviews, medical documentation- to show patterns of workplace discrimination.
- Filing Complaints: Attorneys handle the complexities of EEOC charges or federal complaints. These filings must be timely and complete, one missed detail can sink a case.
- Negotiating Settlements: Employers often want to avoid the embarrassment of public lawsuits. A lawyer can negotiate fair pay, reinstatement, or other remedies.
- Litigating in Court: If settlement fails, your lawyer can help you sue for discrimination. They can challenge employer arguments, call witnesses, and push for damages (money).
Beyond the process, a lawyer gives you leverage. Too many employers assume veterans won’t demand justice. When they see a Consumer Justice Law Firm attorney step in, they realize the game has changed. With good representation, you’re not just a single employee – you’re someone with the full weight of the law behind you.
Read more about working with a lawyer to fight employment discrimination on our practice page.
Who We Help / What Else We Help With
At Consumer Justice Law Firm, we don’t just represent veterans facing disabled veterans discrimination. We also support employees and consumers in a wide range of legal challenges.
- We help workers facing other forms of workplace discrimination – whether based on race, gender, religion, age, or other protected traits.
- We fight for employees in labor law disputes, like unpaid overtime, wage theft, or denied breaks.
- We represent those who are retaliated against for speaking up because retaliation is itself a form of employment discrimination.
- We protect individuals in disability discrimination cases (including those not tied to veteran status), ensuring fairness for anyone struggling against workplace bias.
- In our consumer practice, we assist with credit report problems, debt collection harassment, background check errors, and identity theft, because discrimination isn’t the only injustice people face.
Our goal is simple: to give power back to people who are too often silenced by big corporations, employers, or financial institutions. Veterans come to us for one issue, but often discover we can help them with the many other ways they’ve been treated unfairly. We believe justice should never be piecemeal – it should be comprehensive.
What Steps a Veteran Should Take After Being Discriminated Against
So what should you actually do if you’ve been hit with disabled veterans discrimination at work? Here’s a practical, step-by-step roadmap:
- First, document everything. Write down dates, times, names, and details. Save emails, texts, performance reviews, or any written communication that shows unfair treatment. Memory fades, but paper trails don’t.
- Second, file an internal complaint. Use your company’s HR system or grievance process. Even if you don’t expect a fair resolution, it shows you tried to address the issue internally and creates another record of the discrimination.
- Third, contact the EEOC or Department of Labor. Veterans are covered under multiple laws, and filing a formal complaint with federal agencies is often the next step. Deadlines are short – sometimes as little as 180 days, so don’t wait.
- Fourth, reach out to a lawyer. An employment discrimination lawyer or disability discrimination lawyer experienced with veteran cases can guide you through filing, deadlines, and strategy. They can also help you sue for discrimination if your case needs to move to court.
- Finally, take care of yourself. Facing disabled veterans discrimination is stressful. Lean on veteran organizations, support networks, and counseling services while your legal team fights for justice.
Following these steps can transform your case from “just another complaint” into a documented, actionable fight for your rights.
Following these steps is about more than process, it’s about reclaiming control. Employers may hope veterans will quietly accept mistreatment, but documenting, filing complaints, and getting legal help turns the tables.
Each step adds strength to your case, and each action makes it harder for an employer to dismiss your rights. Veterans already proved their resilience in the military – whether the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines, and that same determination can be used to stand up to workplace bias.
No one who has served this country should have to fight again just to keep a job. But if you do face this battle, these steps can be the foundation of your victory.
GET JUSTICE! Fight Disabled Veterans Discrimination
If you or someone you love is facing disabled veterans discrimination, this isn’t just about one job – it’s about dignity, opportunity, and fairness. You don’t have to settle for a pat on the back on Veterans Day, but silence the rest of the year.
Law firms like Consumer Justice Law Firm provide resources and advocacy. And when it comes to enforcing your rights at work, an experienced disability discrimination lawyer can make all the difference.
Veterans give their service to the United States – often at great personal cost. The least this country can do is ensure they are protected when they return home. If you’ve experienced disabled veterans discrimination, now is the time to fight back.
Real patriotism isn’t just waving a flag on Veterans Day- it’s making sure veterans can live, work, and thrive without fear of disabled veterans discrimination in the very nation they defended.
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