Veterans' Preference
About Veterans' Preference
Veterans' preference means that, under the Veterans'
Employment Opportunities Act, qualified ex-military members (veterans)
are entitled to receive preferential treatment in hiring for Federal government
jobs (including civilian
military jobs and homeland
security jobs).
Veterans' preference also means that qualified veterans are entitled to
retention preference during a Federal reduction in force (RIF), which is
a layoff in plain English.
Another benefit of veterans' preference entitles qualified ex-military
members to apply for Federal job openings that are not open to the general
public.
To be eligible for the benefits of veterans' preference, you must first
qualify for five or ten veterans' preference points, which the hiring authority
will add to your candidate rating or civil service exam score.
Regardless of the number of points for which you qualify, veterans' preference
does not guarantee that you will land a Federal government job. It also
does not entitle you to preferential treatment in all employment matters.
Veterans' preference will give you an edge over other candidates applying
for the same Federal job, if adding your veterans' preference points makes
you rate or score higher than they did; otherwise, it simply levels the
playing field.
Veterans' Preference Points
To qualify for five or ten veterans' preference points, you must have
separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions (honorable or
general discharge).
Among other potential requirements, you must also have served your active
duty during certain time periods or military campaigns, unless you're a
veteran who has a compensatory service-connected disability.
Time periods and military campaigns include (but are not limited to) World
War II, the Vietnam era, the Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
As indicated, when you served active duty doesn't matter if you're a veteran
who has a compensatory service-connected disability. If you meet all other
requirements, then you qualify for the maximum veterans' preference points
of ten. Veterans without service-connected disabilities and who meet all
other requirements, qualify for the minimum of five points.
Qualified spouses, widows, widowers and mothers of
deceased or disabled veterans, are entitled to ten "derived" veterans'
preference points; subsequently, the individuals are are entitled to
preference in hiring and retention as though they too are qualified veterans.
If veterans' preference is appropriate for a Federal job opening, then
the job announcement will likely say so. In turn, the job-application form
or hiring authority will likely ask you how many veterans' preference points
you have. It's a good idea to know beforehand, as the Feds are sticklers
for details during the job-application process. (Follow instructions to
the letter!)
If you don't yet know how many veterans' preference points you have, if
any, then you may find out right now by answering the questions in the Veterans'
Preference Advisor, a simple, online gizmo provided by the U.S.
Department of Labor (DOL). Registration is not required, so you'll
be answering anonymously.
If you're an eligible veteran who reasonably believes
that a Federal employer discriminated against
you by cheating you out of veterans' preference in hiring, then you may file
a complaint within 60 days of the alleged violation.
If that and your follow-up appeal fail to produce satisfactory results,
then you may take your case to court. See an appropriate
attorney about that.
More About Veterans' Preference
For more information about Federal Veterans' Preference and the point
system, refer to the following provided by official government Web sites.
See also the e-VETS
Resource Advisor from the DOL, which provides information and resources
to assist veterans in entering the job market.
State Veterans' Preference
As indicated, veterans' preference discussed here is for Federal government
jobs. But several states have similar programs for state
government jobs too. To find out if the state in which you work has
a veterans' preference program, start by checking with the relevant state labor
department, unemployment office or One-Stop
Career Center.
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