Veteran, Servicemember, and Veteran Family Care Resolution

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WERBC Resolution

Veteran, Servicemember, and Veteran Family Care Resolution

WHEREAS,

WHEREAS,

WHEREAS,

WHEREAS,

WHITE EARTH RESERVATION BUSINESS COMMITTEE

WHITE EARTH BAND OF CHIPPEWA INDIANS

Resolution No. O0/-/7- J0¢

the White Earth Reservation Business Committee is the duly elected governing

body of the White Earth Reservation pursuant to Article VI, Section 1, of the

Revised Constitution and Bylaws of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, as amended,

and organized under Section 16, of the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984); and

the White Earth Reservation Business Committee (RBC) takes this opportunity on

Veterans Day, November 11, 2018 to thank our Veterans for their service, and

for all that they do for our communities; and this Resolution will also be known

as the, “Veteran, Servicemember, and Veteran Family Care Resolution;” and

we recognize our Veterans as resilient, focused, disciplined and caring members

of our communities who encapsulate our Seven Grandfather Teachings: Respect,

Truth, Honesty, Humility, Bravery, Love and Wisdom; and the RBC expresses our

deepest gratitude to our Veterans and their families for their sacrifices; and the

RBC willingly acknowledges that American Indians serve in the Armed Forces at a

higher per capita rate than all other groups in the United States of America; and

the RBC takes great pride in honoring our Veterans on this day, and we recognize

our brave men and women who have sacrificed through their service so that

others may realize a life of freedom.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the RBC hereby expresses its honor and appreciation to our

Veterans through our commitment to assisting them in accessing all necessary

medical services, housing, employment, counseling and other needs; as well as

accessing any and all entitlements to which each Veteran is entitled; for the

purposes of this resolution the RBC recognizes laws administered by the United

States Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) and other applicable laws

affecting Veterans; and, unless otherwise specified by the Revised Constitution

and Bylaws of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, or by RBC Bylaws, this Resolution

specifies eligible benefits and policies for employees, elected officials, and the

public; and

Military Leave: each fiscal year full-time employees and elected officials under

permanent appointment are entitled to 15 days (120 hours) of mandatory

training period leave or military leave, with pay, to perform Active Duty, Active

Duty Training, or Annual Training. Part-time employees and elected officials are

entitled to military leave pro-rated according to the number of hours regularly

worked; and, this policy will be retroactively applied to fiscal year 2018; and

Return to Employment After Active Duty: full-time employees called to Active

Duty will retain their employment. At the conclusion of service, employees will

generally have the right to return to the same position held or to a similar

position with years of service, rate of pay and benefits remaining the same; and

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Veteran, Servicemember, and Veteran Family Care Resolution

Service Connected Disability Leave: each fiscal year full-time employees and

elected officials under permanent appointment are entitled to 40 hours of

service connected disability leave as documented by the USDVA. Part-time

employees and elected officials are entitled to service connected disability leave,

as documented by the USDVA, pro-rated according to the number of hours

regularly worked. Service connected disability leave may be used by a spouse or

documented caregiver employed by the Tribe to help care for a service

connected disabled Veteran; and, service connected disability leave may be used

without regard to a Veteran’s enrollment status or employment status with the

Tribe; and, this policy will be retroactively applied to fiscal year 2018; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the RBC reiterates its policies that currently provide

preferences in hiring and retention of Veterans, and additional preference for

Special Disabled Veterans; priority for Veterans and Special Disabled Veterans

affects: employment (recruiting, hiring and retaining), training, development,

transfers or promotions, and reductions in force; and

Veteran Preference and Benefits: to qualify for Veteran preference under these

provisions and all other benefits in this Resolution, a Veteran must possess a

Discharge, Under Honorable Conditions. Veteran or Special Disabled Veteran

preference shall apply to any active employee or applicant for the purpose of

employment, transfers and or advancement opportunities; and, appropriate

documentation of Veteran or Special Disabled Veteran preference includes:

Discharge Orders (Member Copy 4 of the DD214), Summary of Benefits Letter

from the USDVA, or an Armed Forces Retirement Board showing a serviceconnected disability; and

Special Disabled Veteran: for the purposes of employment and all other benefits

in this Resolution, a Special Disabled Veteran is considered: (i} A veteran of the

U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or

who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to

compensation) under laws administered by the USDVA for a disability: (A) Rated

at 30 percent or more, or (B) Rated at 10 or 20 percent in the case of a Veteran

who has been determined to have a serious employment handicap; or (ii) A

person who was discharged or released from Active Duty because of a serviceconnected disability and compensation; and

Special Disabled Veteran Hiring Authority: if an applicant or transferring

employee meets the minimum qualifications for a job description, and meets the

definition of a Special Disabled Veteran, a noncompetitive Special Disabled

Veteran Hiring Authority appointment may occur and bypass the selection

process after interviews are conducted; and, with the assistance of Human

Resources, Special Disabled Veteran Hiring Authority appointments occur at the

discretion of hiring managers; and, all jobs are subject to this policy; and

Individual Unemployability, and Veteran Spouse Interviews: if a Veteran’s

spouse meets the minimum qualifications for a job and the Veteran has received

a total disability rating based on individual unemployability by the USDVA, the

spouse will be provided an interview with any other applicants and be provided

treatment as a Special Disabled Veteran; and if a Special Disabled Veteran has a

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Veteran, Servicemember, and Veteran Family Care Resolution

total disability rating by the USDVA and is determined unemployable, a spouse

will be provided an interview with any other applicants and be provided

treatment as a Special Disabled Veteran if the spouse meets the minimum

qualifications for a job; and, these provisions qualify an eligible spouse for

Special Disabled Veteran Hiring Authority; and,

Active Duty Status and Servicemember Spouse Interviews: if a full-time

employee that is a Servicemember is called to Active Duty for more than 120

consecutive days, a spouse will be provided treatment, for employment

purposes, as a Veteran if a copy of official military orders are produced; and, this

same provision applies to any Tribal member that is a spouse of a

Servicemember even if the Servicemember is not a full-time employee or has no

employment with the Tribe or its entities; and, the treatment will expire once

the Servicemember is discharged from Active Duty status ; and

Purple Heart or Medal of Honor Citations: if an applicant or transferring

employee meets the minimum qualifications for a job and possesses a Purple

Heart Citation or Medal of Honor Citation as indicated on a Member 4 Copy of a

DD214, the Veteran will be provided an interview with any other applicants; and

Calculation of Hiring Points: for the purposes of hiring points, 5 points shall be

awarded for providing documentation of Veteran status with up to an additional

5 points for Special Disabled Veteran status based on percentage of disability as

documented by the USDVA: 40% - 1 point, 50% - 2 points, 60% - 3 points, 70% - 4

points, 80% or greater - 5 points; and

Indian Preference: Indian preference applies to all jobs, in addition to Veteran

preference and Special Disabled Veteran preference as outlined above; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, for Purple Heart recipients, Medal of Honor recipients, or Special

Disabled Veterans that are enrolled in White Earth as Tribal members, the

following benefits apply:

Fee Waivers: fees are waived for Tribal identification cards, license plates, game

tags, harvest permits, and land leases; and, the RBC shall provide services to

eligible Veterans for snowplowing and lawnmowing free of charge regardless of

income status or age; and

Fee Waivers for Spouses and Dependents: eligible fee waivers are provided to a

spouse, and dependents under the age of 18; and, the waivers are provided to

dependents that have a severe handicap documented by a medical provider

regardless of age; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, for all Veterans that are enrolled in White Earth as Tribal members,

the following benefits apply:

Veteran Constituent Service: effective October 1, 2019 and every subsequent

fiscal year, the RBC will provide an annual contribution of $20,000 to the

Constituent Program solely for eligible Veterans and their dependents to access

and utilize for purposes established by the program’s guidelines; and, the

Veteran must possess a Discharge, Under Honorable Conditions; and, the benefit

is available to Veterans regardless of income Status, disability status, or age; and

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Judicial Services will establish a Veterans Court; and

Public Transportation: any Veteran with a service connected disability may use

Tribal public transportation free of charge; and

Veteran Identification Card and Promotions: no later than January 1, 2019, the

Shooting Star Casino will make available a Native American Veteran

eligible Veteran or Servicemember enrolled in any Federally recognized Tribe,

and it is subject to all applicable Casino policies; and, appropriate documentation

of Veteran or Servicemember status includes: Discharge Orders (Member Copy 4

Military Identification Card; and, the benefit will provide a 20% discount on

meals and giftshop purchases; and subject to availability, the benefit Provides up

to two free rooms a month at any Shooting Star Casino Hotel for Veteran friendly

and, the benefit is available to a Veteran regardless of income Status, disability

Status, or age; and all other Veteran benefits (e.g., Tribal, Federal, State, etc.) do

not affect this benefit for fund disbursements; and

Tribal Veteran Service Officer: no later than October 1, 2019, the Constituent

Program will create or assign a Tribal Veteran Service Officer Position to assist

Veterans with Tribal Specific application for benefits and resources, and to

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Veteran, Servicemember, and Veteran Family Care Resolution

biological child will be provided treatment as a Special Disabled Veteran for life;

and

Veteran Family Surviving Veteran Suicide: extends all eligible benefits and

foregoing policies to a Surviving spouse, dependent, or biological child for life;

and, a surviving Spouse, dependent, or biological child will be provided

image; is committed to assisting our Veterans in healing from any military

trauma; and will continue to promote the self-respect, self-confidence and

We do hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was adopted by a vote of 3 for, /

against, silent, a quorum being present at a special meeting of the White Earth

Minnesota.

wie, :

Terrence “Terry” Tibbe S, Chair

feos Alan Roy, Secretar /Treasufer

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