DOL VETS Explained

The Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service funds Jobs for Veterans State Grants — money to state workforce agencies to employ staff dedicated to veterans. Those staff sit in American Job Centers, and most centers have one or the other of two roles.

They are not interchangeable.

DVOP — Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program specialist. Provides intensive, individualized career services to veterans, prioritizing disabled veterans and veterans with significant barriers to employment. This is the one-to-one caseworker role: assessment, a plan, referrals to other services in the community, and follow-through.

LVER — Local Veterans' Employment Representative. Works the employer side. Conducts outreach to local employers, runs seminars for them, sets up job search workshops and job search groups with employers, and promotes the hiring of veterans — particularly those already working with a DVOP.

So: DVOP works with you, LVER works with the employers. If you need someone to sit down and build a plan, ask for the DVOP by name. If you want to know which local employers actually hire veterans and who to talk to, the LVER is the one with those relationships.

Who is eligible?

American Job Center services are open to any jobseeker, and veterans get priority of service by law.

DVOP intensive services are targeted, not universal — they are for veterans with significant barriers to employment, which includes disability, but also covers circumstances like homelessness, long-term unemployment, no high school diploma, being a recently separated veteran with a low income, and others. If a center tells you the DVOP is only for disabled veterans, that is narrower than the actual criteria.

Three things worth knowing before you go in.

  • These services are free, and they are not VA. This is a separate department with separate money, so being outside the VA system, or having no rating, is irrelevant.
  • The DVOP relationship works like a caseworker, not a counter. It is worth the second and third appointment.
  • Ask the LVER a specific question — "which employers here have hired veterans in the last year, and who is the contact" — rather than a general one. That is the information the role holds and almost nobody asks for.

Find your nearest center through the American Job Center locator.

How do I apply?

  • Find your nearest American Job Center: Use the locator on careeronestop.org.
  • Ask for the DVOP by name if you have a barrier to employment: That is the one-to-one intensive service role.
  • Ask for the LVER for employer intelligence: They hold the local employer relationships.
  • Claim veterans' priority of service: It applies by law across the center's services.
  • Do not assume the DVOP is disability-only: Significant barriers to employment cover homelessness, long-term unemployment and more.
  • Go back: The DVOP relationship is a caseload, not a single appointment.

Common questions

What is the difference between a DVOP and an LVER?

A DVOP specialist provides intensive one-to-one career services to veterans with significant barriers to employment. An LVER works the employer side — outreach, seminars and job search groups with local employers to promote veteran hiring.

Who qualifies for DVOP services?

Veterans with significant barriers to employment. That includes disability but also circumstances like homelessness, long-term unemployment, lacking a high school diploma, or being a recently separated veteran on a low income.

Do you need to be in the VA system to use DOL VETS services?

No. This is the Department of Labor, not VA, so a disability rating or VA enrollment is irrelevant. The services are free.

Where do you find a DVOP or LVER?

In American Job Centers. Most have one or the other designated to serve veterans, and you can find your nearest center through the American Job Center locator.

Do veterans get priority at American Job Centers?

Yes. Veterans receive priority of service by law across the center's employment and training services.

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