Legislature(2021 - 2022)GRUENBERG 120
03/16/2021 01:00 PM House MILITARY & VETERANS' AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB125 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 125 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
HB 125-MILITARY AND FAMILY EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCE
1:04:19 PM
CHAIR TUCK announced that the only order of business would be
HOUSE BILL 125, "An Act relating to private sector and state
employment preferences for active service members, veterans,
and spouses and dependent children of active service members and
veterans; relating to employment preferences for surviving
spouses of deceased service members and veterans; and relating
to employment preferences for disabled veterans and former
prisoners of war."
1:04:52 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DAVID NELSON, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor, presented HB 125. He paraphrased the sponsor statement
[hard copy included in the committee packet], which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
HB 125 seeks to extend the current private sector and
state employment hiring preferences to military
spouses and dependent children.
Military spouses are among the highest unemployed
and underemployed group. They are highly educated and
qualified for a range of careers but because of
frequent moves the unemployment rate among military
spouses is 24% and there is a 26% wage gap compared to
civilian counterparts.
In 2019 the Blue Star Families Military Family
Lifestyle Survey found that 49% of military spouses
indicated that financial issues were the top stressor
for military families, and 48% were concerned about
employment. Of employed military spouses 75 % were
considered underemployed. HB 125 can provide some
help to reduce these concerns for military families by
providing a hiring preference.
A Covid-19 Military Support Initiative created by
the Blue Star Families and the Association of Defense
Communities found that an additional 17% of military
spouses lost their jobs during the pandemic on top of
the 24% unemployment before the pandemic.
Currently 35 states and the District of Columbia
provide hiring preferences to active-duty spouses or
surviving spouses. HB 125 will add Alaska to this
growing list of states that support our military
community and honor the sacrifices these families make
in service to our country.
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON offered to answer questions.
1:07:43 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN asked whether this bill had been
introduced in prior legislatures by a House member not currently
serving.
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON replied that is correct.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN asked how this bill has changed from the
prior versions.
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON responded that this is the same bill that
passed the House in the Thirty-First Alaska State Legislature as
House Bill 113, sponsored by Representative Jackson, and that
there has been no change.
1:08:51 PM
CHAIR TUCK noted that Representative Tarr joined the meeting.
1:09:00 PM
DAVID CHAPA, Executive Director, Alaska Coalition for Veterans
and Military Families, testified in support of HB 125. He said
that the unemployment rate among military spouses is four times
that of the national average, and about twice as high as the
unemployment rate of the most impoverished neighborhoods in the
country. He said that his organization has seen "an increase of
both parents out of work" due to COVID-19, and families in which
parents and children were disabled. Offering preference in
hiring to military spouses will go a long way towards helping
those families.
1:10:32 PM
TAMMIE PERREAULT, Northwest Regional Liaison, Defense-State
Liaison Office, U.S. Department of Defense, testified in support
of HB 125. She described the purpose of the Defense-State
Liaison Office to be a resource for state policymakers who are
addressing quality-of-life issues that impact military and
veteran families. She read from a 2020 letter from the
Undersecretary of Defense to Governor Dunleavy, as follows:
Military spouse employment and the associated
financial and personal wellbeing is an important
component of retention of servicemembers. More than
half of all active-duty military personnel are
married, and 88 percent of employed military spouses
indicate they wanted, or needed, to work. Not only
are military spouses highly influential in general,
regarding their servicemembers decision to remain in
service, but over 28 percent of servicemembers
reported that their decision to leave the military
would largely or moderately be affected by their
spouses' career prospects.
MS. PERRAULT noted that Alaska has approximately 8,000 active-
duty military and 3,200 Reserve spouses, and noted that military
spouses are both an important part of the workforce and among
the highest unemployed, and underemployed, group in the nation.
1:13:00 PM
DANA MANCIAGLI, President, Job Search Master Class, testified in
support of HB 125. She described how corporate and legislative
support has made a difference in transitioning veterans, but
"military spouses have been left behind," and since 92 percent
of all military spouses are women, there's an opportunity to
build a more diverse working population. She said that military
spouses are highly qualified, then described the concept of
"unconscious bias" and suggested that military spouses are
discriminated against. She opined that the proposed legislation
would send a signal to corporate recruiters about the importance
of hiring military spouses. She said that more than 40 percent
of military spouses have college degrees compared with 30
percent of civilians, and more than 43 percent of military
spouses list "employment" as their top issue.
1:17:53 PM
CHAIR TUCK asked Ms. Manciagli to explain whether she was
talking about the families of active servicemembers or veterans.
MS. MANCIAGLI responded, "In our taxonomy, it is everybody."
She said that regardless of the status of the servicemember, the
spouse is [recognized] "for life, for giving us their support to
our country."
CHAIR TUCK used the example of a veteran who has been out of the
service for years and asked whether there is prejudice against
the veteran's spouse when applying for a job.
MS. MANCIAGLI responded as follows:
Let's reverse the tables. So, remember that the
veteran community makes up only approximately 3
percent of our planet, so the majority of hiring
managers, recruiters, anyone influencing the hire
decision - they don't know anything about anything,
and they don't have this distinction in their brain.
So, if the military spouse, proudly - loud and proud -
says, "I'm a military spouse," whether it's a veteran,
current active soldier, a transitioning servicemember
- we, ... on the other side of the table, don't even
know the difference. All we know is you move a lot.
... I help military spouses present themselves
differently and withhold information that's none of
the company's business. The company shouldn't even
know they're married, so that's illegal stuff, ... so,
there's a trap there with being loud and proud as a
military spouse. But the answer to your question is
there is: no discrimination within the discrimination.
CHAIR TUCK noted that marital status is a protected class and
mused about the possibility of discrimination due to being a
military spouse falling into that class.
1:21:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER noted Ms. Manciagli's figure of "3
percent of the planet" and asked what percentage of Alaska is
military and veteran.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR offered her understanding that there are
approximately 270,000 active military, veterans, and dependents
statewide.
CHAIR TUCK surmised that approximately one-third of Alaska's
population is military-related.
MS. MANCIAGLI clarified that the proportion of Alaska's military
population to the state's overall population is similar to other
states "and especially some cities," and she said that a lot of
the recruiting is done by someone who is not from a military
background. She said that many candidates are found via
LinkedIn, and that what the military spouses include in their
resume and LinkedIn page "can fast-track them into the 'no'
pile." She said that there is opportunity to train military
spouses to better compete for jobs.
1:23:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SHAW noted that he is a beneficiary of [a
disabled vet/POW hiring preference bill from the 1980s]. He
said that the value of HB 125 could be that someone who is not
as qualified as others, or does not meet the minimum standards
for a position, could be put on a level playing field with those
who do.
1:25:45 PM
CHAIR TUCK referred to Representative Nelson's opening comments
regarding the pandemic and dual-income families. He asked
whether the term "military spouse" is applicable to the spouse
of a veteran as well, as it related to dual-income families
during the pandemic.
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON clarified that he was referencing the
military support initiative created by Blue Star Families, and
that the reference was applicable to spouses of active duty
servicemembers only.
CHAIR TUCK noted the comment about both wage-earners losing
their jobs due to the pandemic, and asked how it's possible for
someone to lose their job while serving in the military.
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON clarified that he wasn't implying that
both wage-earners lost their jobs.
1:27:16 PM
CHAIR TUCK announced that HB 125 was held over.