DES MOINES - A proposal forbidding discrimination against Iowa veterans, Guard members and reservists when they try to find a job or housing was approved by a House panel Tuesday.

"(Guard members) have come to me and said, 'They won't hire me,'" said Rep. Ray Zirkelbach, D-Monticello, one of the bill's backers. "These are willing and able guys."

The measure would build on the state's civil rights law, along with established federal and state protections for veterans.

The Iowa Civil Rights Act forbids Iowans from being discriminated against on the basis of their sex, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, national origin, disability and other factors. The protections extend to employment, housing, credit and other arenas.

The bill that advanced out of the House Veterans Affairs subcommittee Tuesday would add Iowans' military status to the list. The proposal now heads to the full committee.

Zirkelbach - who returned to the Legislature in January after an almost two-year tour of duty with Iowa National Guard - said several guard members told him they think they've been discriminated against when applying for jobs they felt they were qualified for.

"Guard units are being called up, guys are going away for up to two years at a time … and upon their return, they have a hard time getting a job," Zirkelbach said. "The employer fears the employee will have to serve again for such a long period of time."

Federal and state laws - including a bill approved by the Legislature this year - protect the jobs of service members summoned to active duty.

But the same protections don't exist to military members looking for a job, Zirkelbach said.

"There are no protections in hiring," Zirkelbach said. "They can basically discriminate against you in hiring."

If enacted, the proposal would allow the Iowa Civil Rights Commission to investigate service members' discrimination claims. Persons wrongly discriminated against may seek restitution.

The commission receives between 1,700 and 2,000 complaints a year, said executive director Ralph Rosenberg. Most of those complaints concern employment issues, such as wrongful termination.

Rosenberg, who couldn't estimate the number of military claims the commission might receive, said he supports the legislation's goal.

"The concept is fine. …. It agrees with what we're doing," Rosenberg said.

Contact Whitney Woodward at (515) 243-0138 or whitney.woodward@lee.net.