Federal Job Veterans

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Veteran's Preference

Veteran's Preference can give you the edge you need.

Since the Civil War, veterans have been given preference in appointments to federal jobs, with Congress recognizing the sacrifices made by persons serving in the armed forces. These laws provide preference for veterans who are disabled or served in active duty during specified time periods or military campaigns over non-veterans both in hiring and in retention during reductions in force. Preference alone will not place a veteran in every federal job, nor will it apply to promotions or other in-service actions.

Generally, for a veteran to obtain preference, a veteran must have an honorable or general discharge. If a veteran retired at the rank of major / lieutenant commander or higher - and is not disabled - the veteran is not eligible for preference. Note that guard and reserve active duty for training does not qualify for preference. For preference to be considered, it must be indicated on the resume.

Veterans may be eligible to have 5 points or 10 points added to their application score. If a veteran served during specific periods of conflict in the armed forces, including 1941 to 1955, 180 consecutive days from 1955 to 1976, during the Gulf War from 1990 to 1992 or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign medal has been authorized, including El Salvador, Grenada, Haiti, Lebanon, Panama, Somalia, Southwest Asia, Bosnia and the Global War on Terrorism, they are eligible for a 5 point preference. For veterans who are not disabled, in addition to service, medal holders or Gulf War veterans who joined after a specific date must have served for 24 months or the full amount of time required for Active Duty to be eligible for the 5 point preference.

A veteran who has a service connected disability, received a Purple Heart or is receiving compensation, disability retirement benefits or a pension from the military or the Department of Veteran Affairs may qualify for a 10 point preference. Others may claim this preference, including unmarried spouses of deceased veterans, spouses of veterans unable to work because of a service-connected disability or mothers of veterans who died in service or who are permanently and totally disabled. To obtain the 10 point preference, if eligible, a veteran must complete form SF-15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, available online at SF15.PDF.

In addition to point preferences, there are other preferences available to veterans for federal employment. These include Veterans' Recruitment Appointment (VRA), which gives federal agencies discretionary authority to hire veterans who meet the basic requirements for the position without competition. A veteran who separated from active duty in the past 3 years AND is disabled, served on active duty during a war declared by Congress, participated while on active duty in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized OR while on active duty participated in a military operations for which the Armed Forces Service Medal was awarded is eligible for a VRA appointment. VRA authority applies to white collar positions through the GS-11 level.

In addition, federal agencies give noncompetitive appointments to any veteran who has a service-connected disability of 30% or more. Like the VRA, this authority is discretionary with the agency.

A veteran's status also can help in finding positions to apply for. Many job announcements in the federal government require applicants to have status - and if an applicant does not have status, they are not eligible to apply. Applicants who have served 3 years active duty in the military in the last 10 years most likely have status - according to the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA). This is not just limited to personnel separating or retiring lower than the rank of major/lieutenant commander - it applies to all military personnel. This allows veterans to apply to positions not open to the general public - which is many of the positions posted for federal government jobs.