Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Labor honored ATD member Bob Nuss with the 2019 HIRE Vets Medallion Award, the only federal-level award that recognizes a company or organization’s commitment to veterans’ employment and professional development. Nuss was honored at a ceremony at the U.S. Department of Labor.

“I am very honored to be recognized for this U.S. Department of Labor award on behalf of all of our employees, but most especially for the veterans who are part of our team,” said Nuss, president of Nuss Truck & Equipment in Rochester, Minn.

The award was created as a result of the Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing (HIRE) American Military Veterans Act, which was signed into law in 2017. 2019 is the first year of the award’s full implementation with recipients evaluated on a range of criteria, including veteran hiring and retention, availability of veteran-specific resources, leadership programming and compensation and tuition assistance programs for veterans.

Nuss Truck and Equipment currently employs more than 350 people—7.5 percent of which are veterans.

“Hiring veterans is not only good for our economy and our communities, but it is the smart thing to do,” added Nuss, who was also honored in 2017 as ATD Truck Dealer of the Year. “Veterans have a record of reliability and quality training, along with prior service to our country.”

Nuss is an active truck dealer and ATD member. Earlier this year, in April, Nuss hosted President Donald Trump and senior White House advisors for an economic roundtable discussion at his dealership in Burnsville, Minn. to discuss tax reform, the economy, the positive effects of tax relief on small businesses and calling for repeal of the 12-percent federal excise tax (FET) levied on the sale of most new heavy-duty trucks and trailers.