October 19, 2023

Employees asked to self-identify veteran, disability status

SIU Carbondale Human Resources, Veteran Services and Office for Access and Accommodations are asking employees to self-identify disability or veteran status. While employees can update their responses at any time, they are encouraged to submit information before Oct. 30 for reporting cycle needs.

All responses will be kept confidential within Human Resources. The information will not be shared with hiring units, managers or university leadership in a way that connects to an individual employee. Total numbers of employees in each group will be reported to the Department of Labor, Illinois state legislature and other entities as needed.

“Having accurate counts of SIU’s disabled and veteran employees is important so we know if SIU is serving those employee groups effectively,” said Ashley Followell, equal opportunity officer in the University Affirmative Action Office. “We want to make sure that initiatives, services and policies are helping. We want to make sure that those voices are heard. We want our employees to feel safe, welcome and encouraged to bring their whole selves to work.”

As a federal contractor, SIU is required to give applicants and employees the opportunity to self-identify, but responding is completely voluntary.

“An employee’s status may change over time, and we encourage everyone to keep their information up to date,” Followell said. “If you have submitted this information in the past, thank you! We encourage you to check that your responses have been captured correctly in the system.”

Disability Status: The Americans with Disabilities Act defines a person with a disability as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a history of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment, said Lisa Caringer, director of the Office for Access and Accommodations. Most disabilities are not obvious or apparent to an observer, and many people have conditions that meet the criteria but do not need accommodations to do their jobs. Some examples may include diabetes, cancer (including a history/past diagnosis), depression, kidney disease, dyslexia or arthritis.

“Whether your disability is obvious or invisible, we want you to feel safe and supported in the choice to self-identify,” she said.

Veteran Status: For the federal reporting requirements, employees are considered veterans if they served in a full-time active-duty military capacity for any length of time or served on federal orders in the National Guard for 180 days or more, said Paul Copeland, coordinator of Veteran Services. This is different than the Veterans Preference Points granted by the State University Civil Service System. If you are not sure if your service qualifies, please check out the guide at the Department of Labor website.

What you can do: To update your self-ID selections:

  • Log in to your HR Self Service account at siu.edu, using your DawgTag and password.
  • Open the “SIUC Employee Online Services” folder and click “disclose veteran status” or “disclose disability status.”
  • Choose the response option that applies to you and click “submit.” You will get a confirmation message.

Employees can access HRSS on a mobile device. A computer is available at the Office of Human Resources in Woody Hall for any employee who needs it.

If you need assistance, contact the University Affirmative Action Office at affact@siu.edu or 618-453-1196. If you have questions about disability self-identification, contact the ADA Office at ada@siu.edu or 618-453-5738. If you have questions about veteran self-identification, contact Veteran Services at vets@siu.edu or 618-453-1335.