Ethics

The Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action Program (DVAAP) promotes the hiring and advancement of disabled veterans for departments and agencies in the Federal Government through affirmative action (AA) programs. This program is different from the affirmative action programs for women and minorities, because the latter are given preferential treatment in employment and education commonly through quota systems and by providing more lenient selection procedures for unqualified applicants. This essay argues that disabled veterans should not get preferential treatment over better qualified candidates who are not disabled veterans, because deontologically, it is unconstitutional and wrong to use quotas to advance the rights of minorities (Muhl, 1999, p.49), people should be hired based on merit, and this will only promote reverse discrimination, and using the utilitarian perspective, unqualified people should not be hired that can pose problems or harms in the future, and this AA program can also lead to resentment for others who are more qualified, but were not hired, but in order to protect disabled veterans from discrimination, they should also be considered closely for what they can do, despite their disabilities, so that they can still access meaningful employment opportunities (Background information).

Disabled veterans should not get preferential treatment over better qualified candidates who are not disabled veterans, because deontologically, it is unconstitutional and wrong to use quotas to advance the rights of minorities (Muhl, 1999, p.49). It is not considered constitutional to create quotas or other similar forms to improve the employment opportunities for women and minorities, according to a California Supreme Court (Muhl, 1999, p.48), and the same applies to unqualified disabled veterans. In addition, it is also wrong to use quotas to advance the rights of minorities, because it is the duty of the society to address only the wrongs that directly affected the disabled veterans, and employing them, when they are unqualified, will not address employment problems they might have had in the past. People should also be hired based on merit, because this is the right way of employment that can be universalized. Hiring unqualified workers will also only promote reverse discrimination, which is also wrong, because qualified people should be employed, so that they can perform their roles and responsibilities properly.

Furthermore, according to the utilitarian perspective, unqualified people should not be hired that can pose problems or harms in the future. For instance, when people hire a disabled veteran, who can hardly perform certain manual jobs, this might lead to safety issues that can only harm the veteran and others around him. In addition, this AA program can also lead to resentment for others who are more qualified, but were not hired. Other non-disabled people might know about the hiring of an unqualified disabled veteran, which would dampen their morale and feel injustice. This result will not improve the utility of the society, as a whole.

On the other hand, in order to protect disabled veterans from discrimination, they should also be considered closely for what they can do, despite their disabilities, so that they can improve workplace diversity and decrease workplace disenfranchisement for their group (Background information). This means that employers and the HR should also not just quickly dismiss less qualified disabled veterans during their applicants review, and they should pay extra attention on the specific attributes and potentials of the disabled veterans (Wilkins, 2008). In this manner, they would avoid unconscious discrimination or prejudice and probably find more suitable jobs for the disabled veterans.

Thus, it is wrong to hire unqualified disabled veterans over more qualified non-veterans. The DVAAP, nevertheless, asks departments and agencies in the Federal Government to provide greater consideration for them, not through quotas or more lenient employment standards, but through an analysis of their potential and qualifications, so that that they would not be disenfranchised from the working sector.