Employers will no longer be able to discriminate against veterans under legislation approved by the Senate Tuesday.
The unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans is three times higher than the rate for non-veterans in Indiana. Sen. Jim Banks (R-Columbia City) says that's part of why the bill he's sponsoring is so necessary. The legislation would bar employers from discriminating against veterans.
Banks says it's a particular problem for National Guard members and reservists, and Indiana has one of the highest National Guard forces in the country.
"For employers who know that if they hire a particular employee who is a National Guard volunteer that they might be deployed for a year, so those considerations are taken into account by prospective employers," Banks says. "They shouldn't be."
The Senate unanimously approved the bill. It now heads back to the House.