Grants a combat veteran tax credit for entrepreneurs to provide a five hundred dollar tax credit to combat veteran entrepreneurs who create a business in New York state.
Relates to certain veterans; entitles them to 10 additional competitive civil service exam points if they are disabled; entitles them to 5 additional competitive civil service exam points if they are non-disabled and if they received certain medals or ribbons.
This bill creates a program allowing veterans who served honorably in the U.S. military but couldn't complete high school to earn a diploma based on their service experience. It removes outdated requirements (like limiting eligibility to World War II veterans) and directs the education commissioner to develop the program. The law takes effect immediately, enabling eligible veterans to receive diplomas without needing to complete traditional coursework. This directly affects veterans who left school early for military service, offering a formal recognition of their skills gained during service.
This bill allows private employers (like corporations or nonprofits with employees) to voluntarily create written policies giving hiring, promotion, or retention preference to veterans over equally qualified candidates. It defines "veteran" as someone with qualifying military service (e.g., 180+ days active duty with honorable discharge) and requires any preference policy to be applied uniformly. The policy must be in writing and does not apply to government entities like state agencies or school districts. Private employers can adopt this policy without legal obligation, but must follow it consistently for all employment decisions affecting veterans.
Requires employers to offer paid leave of absence to veterans on Veterans' day, except for emergency or critical employees, who shall be offered another day of paid leave.
This bill creates a state program to coordinate veteran contact information across multiple government agencies. It requires agencies providing services like healthcare, housing, employment, or tax benefits to ask individuals about veteran status during intake. Veteran status details are protected as confidential information and can only be used to connect veterans with benefits or referrals to the Department of Veterans' Services. The program directly affects veterans seeking state benefits and state agencies delivering those services.
Establishes a veterans in agriculture assistance and outreach program to help integrate veterans into the field of agriculture, and support veterans currently working in agriculture; designs an associated logotype for the promotion of products produced by a veteran or qualified veteran business entity.
This bill establishes a certification program for veteran-owned businesses (requiring at least 51% veteran ownership, New York operations, and meeting size standards) and creates a "Division of Veterans' Business Development" within the Office of General Services. The division will maintain a public directory of certified businesses by service type and assist state agencies in using these businesses for contracts exceeding $25,000. It directly affects veteran entrepreneurs seeking state contracts and all state agencies issuing qualifying contracts. The law requires agencies to consider certified veteran-owned businesses when awarding eligible contracts.
This bill amends New York's law to explicitly include veterans in the legal definition of "military status." It expands the current definition - which already covers active military service - to protect veterans who have completed their service from unlawful discrimination. The key change adds the phrase "a person's participation in the military service... if such person has been released from such service" to the existing definition. This means veterans will now be covered under the same anti-discrimination protections that apply to active-duty military personnel. The change applies to all areas governed by this law, including employment and housing.
This bill (S 4965) requires the New York State civil service department to waive all application fees for veterans taking civil service examinations for government jobs. It directly affects all veterans applying for state or municipal civil service positions, including those who served in the U.S. armed forces, National Guard, or New York Guard. The key provision mandates that the state must eliminate these fees for veterans, as defined by law (including honorably discharged service members and certain LGBT veterans), regardless of their current employment status. This policy change removes a financial barrier for veterans seeking government employment through civil service exams.
