2 Long Island firms honored for commitments to hiring veterans

Since taking ownership of TruView BSI, a background screening and investigations firm in Melville, company president and U.S. Army veteran Nick Auletta said the company has seen tremendous growth.

Auletta, who was discharged as a captain after serving a combined 44 months in the Iraq combat zone, purchased the Melville-based firm in 2017. The company, which offers preemployment screening services nationwide, has grown from around 15 employees six years ago to more than 75 today. Around 10% of his staffers are military veterans, he said.

“It’s a natural kind of progression coming out of the military,” said Auletta, 42, who served as an infantry officer and later worked in military intelligence over his six-year active-duty Army career. “While we are looking at individuals from all backgrounds … we do find that for military members it’s a great transition.”

Auletta said that vets often make a great fit for his business because of their ability to adapt to new situations.

“In the military, we’re constantly asked to move to new positions and become an expert very quickly,” he said. “It allows you to be very flexible and adaptable and I think those are tremendous skills in the workforce.”

TruView and AutoBase Inc. of Amityville were among 859 employers throughout the country to receive the HIRE Vets Medallion Award this week from the U.S. Department of Labor, which recognizes employers for their commitments to employing and supporting U.S. military veterans.

The award, started in 2018, honored 19 employers throughout New York state in 2023.

“The U.S. Department of Labor applauds the commitment that HIRE Vets Medallion Award recipients show by employing, retaining and supporting our nation’s veterans,” Julie Su, acting Secretary of Labor said in a statement. “Tapping into the unique skills and talents of our veterans helps to strengthen their organizations and power our nation’s economic growth,” Su said.

For Donna LaBella, president and owner of AutoBase,  which provides roadside safety services for drivers statewide and across the country, hiring veterans has become part of the company’s mission.

“Our whole focus on it is to try and give back,” said LaBella, whose company has been a HIRE Vets award recipient five years running. “We get the comforts of our homes, not having to do the things veterans have done. It’s an American duty to give back where we can.”

While not a veteran herself, LaBella said her business provides work opportunities that are strong matches for the skills that military members already have.

AutoBase, which has 122 employees statewide — 10% of whom are veterans — often requires its employees to patrol roadways like the Long Island Expressway looking for motorists in distress, and who at times find themselves being the first to respond to the scene of an accident, LaBella said.

“When you onboard someone who is a veteran, they understand those dangers,” she said.