Most hiring was curtailed due to the economic situation. The Postal Service is among the nation’s largest employers of veterans and disabled veterans and actively recruits men and women in uniform. This year’s military outreach effort resulted in a designation of honorable mention as a Military-Friendly Employer. The Postal Service is a member of the Advisory Committee on Veterans’ Employment and Training and Employer Outreach, which consists of federal and private sector members who advise on Veteran’s employment and best practices. In 2009 over 23 percent of the career workforce (145,269 employees) were preference eligible veterans. 54,329 of these veterans are categorized as disabled, 14,576 of which are rated 30 percent or more disabled.
Competitive procedures are used to select individuals with disabilities for employment. People with severe disabilities receive noncompetitive employment consideration through referrals from state departments of vocational rehabilitation or the Department of Veterans Affairs. This year the career workforce included 36,245 employees with reported disabilities.
The Management Intern program provides recruitment and placement of talented university graduates with specialized training and skills. This year, 18 Management Interns were hired.
Telecommuting and alternate work schedule programs were implemented for most headquarters and headquarters field unit employees. These flexible work arrangements aid work-life balance and enhance efforts to recruit and retain top talent. By eliminating commuting days, energy use and CO2 emissions are reduced — to date saving employees 125,000 gallons of gas and reducing CO2 emissions by 2.7 million pounds. Telecommuting may also enable employees to work at home during emergency events, enhancing the ability of the Postal Service to continue business as usual.
