Cal State Long Beach Hit With New Finding of Bias Against Vets

For the second time in a week, federal investigators have concluded that Cal State Long Beach, one of the state’s largest university campuses, violated affirmative action laws for military veterans who served during the Vietnam War.

The second round of findings from the U.S. Department of Labor stated that university officials violated 21 sections of a 1974 federal law designed to provide equal employment opportunities to veterans, including the disabled. The Times obtained a copy of the written conclusions Wednesday.

The findings followed an earlier report, issued over the weekend, that cited Cal State Long Beach for 18 initial violations of the anti-discrimination law.

“We are absolutely delighted that they are finally being held accountable,” said Walter H. Moore Jr., a professor whose complaint triggered a second investigation last year. “They are going to have to stop discriminating against veterans. It has been a long, hard battle.”

Moore, a speech pathologist who has worked at Cal State Long Beach for 21 years, served in the U.S. Navy from 1966 to 1968. Although never stationed in Vietnam, he helped to care for troops wounded in combat.

In October 1998, Moore filed a labor complaint alleging the university had ignored the 1974 Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment and Assistance Act.

The law requires all federal contractors to prevent discrimination and develop a system to hire, train and promote Vietnam era veterans. Cal State Long Beach now has about $25 million in federal grants, mostly for research.

University officials have repeatedly denied they excluded Vietnam era veterans from affirmative action programs. They say all job applicants and employees are treated fairly.

The number of Vietnam era veterans who either work for the university or have applied for campus jobs is unknown. Labor officials estimate the veterans represent 1.6% of the 2,669 people hired between 1995 and 1999; they comprise 7% of the surrounding population.

In its latest 10-page report, the labor department said that the university’s “policy statement excludes covered veterans as a protected class group, and is unresponsive to the required components” of the Readjustment and Assistance Act.

The findings show that policies were never adequately developed to prevent harassment, retaliation and discrimination against veterans who applied for campus jobs or worked at the university.

School officials, investigators said, failed to keep records related to Vietnam era veterans, did not update and review affirmative action policies, and never notified veterans of employment opportunities and affirmative action benefits.

The findings are similar to those issued over the weekend to 10 Vietnam era veterans, including Moore, who lodged a separate complaint with the labor department in 1995.

As with allegations in the first complaint, labor department officials will meet with university officials to discuss possible solutions and restitution to the veterans involved. The law contains no set penalties for offending contractors, however.