Veterans' Preference
About Veterans' Preference
Veterans' preference means that, under relevant Federal
laws, qualified ex-military members (veterans) are
entitled to receive preferential treatment in hiring for
Federal government
jobs.
Veterans' preference also means that qualified veterans
are entitled to retention preference during a Federal reduction
in force (RIF), such as a layoff.
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 compensable,
service-connected disability.
Time periods and military campaigns include 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 compensable, 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.
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.
The e-VETS
Resource Advisor 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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