Treasury officials, veterans and commissioners detail employment obstacles for Massachusetts veterans with disabilities

Eman Buzien Sayedee, executive director of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities, invited two Treasury officials to describe employment obstacles faced by veterans with disabilities during the commission’s Disability Employment Subcommittee meeting.

The Treasury’s veterans bonus director, Steve Crodo, and Treasury specialist Bill Kulevis outlined barriers including frequent medical appointments after service, employer scrutiny tied to military service, stigma around visible and invisible injuries, and gaps in who veterans contact for benefits. “Veterans have the same issues as a lot of other people with disabilities. Plus the veteran, the military side, they also, an employer, you know, may look a little different, put a little bit more scrutiny on them,” Crodo said.

Why it matters: Commissioners said the barriers affect veterans’ ability to obtain and retain stable work and recommended better outreach by employers and state programs to reach younger veterans and Guard and Reserve members.

Key points from the discussion - Veterans’ medical and mental‑health appointments can be frequent, especially during initial post‑service evaluations at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Crodo recommended examining programs that offer protected leave for veterans during the first year after service and noted federal leave policies that might serve as models: “they give their veterans that are disabled. They give them like a hundred hours, I think, for their first year of just special leave called military leave,” he said. - Guard and Reserve members can face a “dual status” challenge: ongoing service obligations can complicate scheduling and eligibility for VA disability processes, which Kulevis described as a “gray area” for concurrent service and disability claims. - Stigma and employer misunderstandings remain an obstacle, particularly in the private sector. Kulevis recounted being told by one employer he “couldn’t work for him because I was in the National Guard,” which he said violates the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). - Outreach gaps at transition points: both Treasury speakers and commissioners said veterans, particularly younger veterans, often do not know where to go after leaving service. Crodo said municipal veteran service officers (VSOs) are intended to be a “one‑stop shop,” but outreach to departing service members is inconsistent.

Resources and follow‑up - Treasury’s Veterans Bonus Division provides a wartime bonus for veterans who are originally from Massachusetts and served during qualifying wartime periods; Crodo encouraged people to refer veterans to the office. The presenters agreed to continue conversations with the commission about compiling and publicizing veteran resources, including benefits counseling and local VSO contacts.

Commission reaction and next steps Commission members including Janice (chair of the commission), Kathy Bukowski and Oz Mandahar thanked the presenters and suggested several practical follow‑ups: adding veteran resources to the commission’s employer toolkit and coordinating with benefits counselors (Work Without Limits and other partners) to avoid unintended benefit cliffs for participants entering internships or paid training.

Ending The subcommittee concluded the item with interest in continued collaboration among Treasury, the VA, municipal VSOs and nonprofit benefit counselors to improve outreach and to clarify how training stipends, internships and early employment interact with veterans’ benefits.