Labor Department Works to Help Injured Vets

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is launching America’s Heroes at Work, a project that focuses on the employment challenges of returning service members living with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and/or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Through the America’s Heroes at Work Web site , the project equips employers with the tools they need to help returning service members affected by TBI and/or PTSD succeed in the workplace particularly service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.  TBI and PTSD also affect first responders including police, fire fighters and others.

For wounded and injured veterans, employment can play a significant role in the road the recovery. The project offers a variety of educational resources for employers regarding the hiring and accommodation of veterans with disabilities. For example, many of the on-the-job challenges of TBI and PTSD can be addressed with sim-ple supports such as alarm clocks, scheduled rest breaks, memory/time management aids, adaptive technol-ogy and lighting adjustments. Other promising practices include job sharing, coaching and mentoring pro-grams.