Berry Law Honored with Platinum Medallion Award for their Dedication to Employing Veterans

The United States Department of Labor has awarded Berry Law the HIREVets Platinum Medallion, the highest Federal honor a company can receive for hiring and employing Veterans.  Berry Law becomes one of three companies in Nebraska to ever win the Platinum Medallion and is the first law firm in America to receive the accolade.  The award was formally presented to Berry Law at an awards banquet in Washington D.C. on November 6, 2019.

The award was established as part of the Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans (HIRE Vets) Act, signed into law on May 5, 2017, and is designed to recognize employers who display a commitment to hiring our nation’s heroes. The award is the preeminent Federal-level Veterans’ employment award that recognizes an organization’s dedication to employing and professionally developing America’s Veterans.

“It is a tremendous honor to be recognized by the Federal government and the HIREVets program. My business philosophy is that success starts with assembling the best team available, and I believe that hiring Veterans onto our team is instrumental to building and maintaining a culture of excellence,” noted Berry Law CEO and US Army Veteran John S. Berry, “We often find that the Veterans we hire are the most disciplined and coachable members on our team, and I truly believe that more companies would benefit by prioritizing the hiring of Veterans.”

The medallions are awarded annually and are divided into two tiers: gold medallion awards and the even more exclusive platinum medallion awards. Platinum medallion winners must have hired Veterans for at least 10% of their prior year hires, and retained more than 85% of Veterans hired for over 12 months. Veterans must also make up more than 10% of the business’ total employees. The entire list of criteria for the award are:

1. Percentage of new hires during the previous year that are veterans;
2. Percentage of veteran employees retained for a period of at least 12 months;
3. Percentage of employees who are veterans;
4. Provision of an employee veteran organization or resource group to assist new veteran employees with integration, including coaching and mentoring;
5. Provision of programs to enhance the leadership skills of veteran employees during their employment;
6. Employment of a dedicated human resources professional or initiatives to support hiring, training, and retention of veteran employees;
7. Provision of compensation, to employees serving on active duty in the United States National Guard or Reserve, that is sufficient, in combination with the employee’s active duty pay, to achieve a combined level of income commensurate with the employee’s salary prior to undertaking active duty;
8. Provision of a tuition assistance program to support veteran employees’ attendance in postsecondary education during the term of their employment; and
9. Employer with an adverse labor law decision, stipulated agreement, contract debarment, or contract termination, as defined in the rule, pursuant to either of the following labor laws will not be eligible to receive an Award: Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA); or Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA).

Our team appreciates the recognition and we look forward to continuing to support Veterans both in the office and in the courtroom.  Veterans on our team are essential to helping us fight on behalf of our clients, both fellow Veterans and civilians. We understand that without the trust of our clients, we would never have been able to receive this award. For that, we want to extend our gratitude.

To learn more about the award, visit: https://www.hirevets.gov/