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Job Opportunities - Applying for a Job - Applicants - Appointing Authorities for Veterans and Preference Information |
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Eligibility for these appointing authorities and/or Veterans’ Preference does not guarantee selection for employment.
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Veteran appointing authorities are authorities, based upon law, permitting competitive and non-competitive appointments of veterans, who meet certain eligibility requirements, to civil service positions in the Federal government. These authorities give certain eligible veterans the right to apply under merit promotion announcements that would normally only be open to current or former federal employees. The three commonly used special appointing authorities for Veterans are the Veterans’ Recruitment Act (VRA), the Veterans’ Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) and 30% or More Disabled Veterans. Details and eligibility requirements of each authority are described below. (You may also visit http://www.opm.gov/veterans/html/vetguide.asp and view OPM’s VetGuide for more detailed information or for Vet info from the USAjobs site click on this link: http://www.opm.gov/StaffingPortal/vetguide.asp
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To be eligible for a noncompetitive excepted VRA appointment you must meet one of the following criteria:
- Be a disabled veteran or;
- Have served on active duty in the Armed Forces during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized or;
- While serving on active duty in the Armed Forces, participated in a military operation for which an Armed Forces Service Medal was awarded or;
- Be a “Recently separated veteran” – meaning veterans last separated from active duty within the past 3 years.
Additionally:
- You must have been discharged under honorable conditions;
- You must be “qualified,” i.e., able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation for a disability and meet the basic qualification requirements of the position as described in the vacancy announcement;
- The maximum grade level at which appointments may be made is GS-11;
- After two years of satisfactory service, you may be converted to a career or career-conditional appointment, as appropriate.
If you are applying for a Merit Promotion announcement under the Veterans’ Recruitment Act in addition to the required application materials as stated in the vacancy announcement, you must submit, as proof of eligibility, your DD-214 (Member Copy 4) for the period of service for which you are claiming eligibility.
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VEOA allows eligible veterans to apply and compete for positions announced under merit promotion procedures. If you compete under these procedures and are selected, you will be given a career or career-conditional appointment.
To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, the vacancy must be open to applicants outside the agency and the veteran must be a:
- Preference eligible (See section below on preference eligibility) or;
- Veteran separated after 3 or more years of continuous service performed under honorable conditions. If you were released up to 31 days short of completing 3 years of continuous active duty your military service will be considered to have met the length of service requirement for VEOA.
To receive further consideration, in addition to meeting one of the eligibility requirements listed above, you must also:
- Meet the qualification requirements of the position as described in the vacancy announcement and be among the best qualified
If you are applying for a Merit Promotion announcement under VEOA in addition to the required application materials as stated in the vacancy announcement, you must submit, as proof of eligibility, your DD-214 for the period of service for which you are claiming eligibility.
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You may be given a noncompetitive temporary appointment of more than 60 days or a term appointment if you:
- Retired from active military service with a disability rating of 30% or more; or
- Has been rated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as having a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more.
In addition to meeting one of these two requirements you must also meet all qualification requirements for the position. At any time during your temporary or term appointment, without a break in service, you may be converted to a career or career-conditional appointment.
If you are applying for a Merit Promotion announcement as a 30% or more disabled veteran in addition to the required application materials as stated in the vacancy announcement, you must submit, as proof of eligibility, your DD-214 (Please submit the DD-214 (Member Copy 4) for the period of service for which you are claiming eligibility), Standard Form 15 and the proof requested on the form.
Click link below to access copy of Standard Form 15 from OPM’s web site:
http://www.opm.gov/forms/html/sf.asp
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Since the time of the Civil War, Veterans of the Armed Forces have been given some degree of preference in appointments to Federal jobs. Recognizing that sacrifices are made by those serving in the Armed Forces, Congress enacted laws to prevent veterans seeking Federal employment from being penalized because of the time spent in military service. By law, veterans who are disabled or who served on active duty in the Armed Forces during certain specified time periods or in military campaigns are entitled to preference over nonveterans both in hiring from competitive lists of eligibles and in retention during reductions in force.
Preference does not have as its goal the placement of a veteran in every vacant Federal job; this would be incompatible with the merit principle of public employment. Nor does it apply to promotions or other in-service actions. However, preference does provide a uniform method by which special consideration is given to qualified veterans seeking Federal employment.
Preference applies in hiring from civil service examinations, for most excepted service jobs, and when agencies make temporary appointments or use direct hire and delegated examining authorities from the U. S. Office of Personnel Management.
General Requirements for Preference
To be entitled to preference, a veteran must meet the eligibility requirements in section 2108 of title 5, United States Code. This means that:
- An honorable or general discharge is necessary.
- Military retirees at the rank of major, lieutenant commander, or higher are not eligible for preference unless they are disabled veterans.
- Guard and Reserve active duty for training purposes does not qualify for preference.
- When applying for Federal jobs, eligible veterans should claim preference on their application or resume. Applicants claiming 10-point preference must complete form SF-15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference.
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Five points are added to the passing examination score of a veteran who served:
- During a war; or
- During the period April 28, 1952 through July 1, 1955; or
- For more than 180 consecutive days, other than for training, any part of which occurred after January 31, 1955, and before October 15, 1976; or
- During the Gulf War from August 2, 1990, through January 2, 1992; or
- For more than 180 consecutive days, other than for training, any part of which occurred during the period beginning September 11, 2001, and ending
on the date prescribed by Presidential proclamation or by law as the last day of Operation Iraqi Freedom; or - In a campaign or expedition for which a campaign medal has been authorized. Any Armed Forces Expeditionary medal or campaign badge, including El
Salvador, Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, Southwest Asia, Somalia, and Haiti, qualifies for preference.
A campaign medal holder or Gulf War veteran who originally enlisted after September 7, 1980, (or began active duty on or after October 14, 1982, and has not previously completed 24 months of continuous active duty) must have served continuously for 24 months or the full period called or ordered to active duty. The 24-month service requirement does not apply to 10-point preference eligibles separated for disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty, or to veterans separated for hardship or other reasons under 10 U.S.C. 1171 or 1173.
A word about Gulf War Preference...
The Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 1998 (Public Law 105-85) of November 18, 1997, contains a provision (section 1102 of Title XI) which accords Veterans' preference to everyone who served on active duty during the period beginning August 2, 1990, and ending January 2, 1992, provided, of course, the veteran is otherwise eligible.
This means that anyone who served on active duty during the Gulf War, regardless or where of for how long, is entitled to preference if otherwise eligible (i.e., have been separated under honorable conditions and served continuously for a minimum of 24 months or the full period for which called or ordered to active duty). This applies not only to candidates seeking employment, but to Federal employees who may be affected by reduction in force, as well.
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Ten points are added to the passing examination score of:
- A veteran who served any time and who (1) has a present service- connected disability or (2) is receiving compensation, disability retirement benefits, or pension from the military or the Department of Veterans Affairs. Individuals who received a Purple Heart qualify as disabled veterans.
- An unmarried spouse of certain deceased veterans, a spouse of a veteran unable to work because of a service-connected disability, and
- A mother of a veteran who died in service or who is permanently and totally disabled.
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Veterans meeting the criteria for preference and who are found eligible (achieve a score of 70 or higher either by a written examination or an evaluation of their experience and education) have 5 or 10 points added to their numerical ratings depending on the nature of their preference. For scientific and professional positions in grade GS-9 or higher, names of all eligibles are listed in order of ratings, augmented by veteran preference, if any. For all other positions, the names of 10-point preference eligibles who have a compensable, service-connected disability of 10 percent or more are placed ahead of the names of all other eligibles on a given register. The names of other 10-point preference eligibles, 5-point preference eligibles, and non-veterans are listed in order of their numerical ratings.
Entitlement to veterans' preference does not guarantee a job. There are many ways an agency can fill a vacancy other than by appointment from a list of eligibles.
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A 10-point preference eligible may file an application at any time for any positions for which a non-temporary appointment has been made from a competitive list of eligibles within the past 3 years.
In addition, a person who is unable to file for an open competitive examination because of military service may file after the closing date. In either of the above situations, the veteran should contact the agency that announced the position for further information.
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Veterans who believe that they have not been accorded the preference to which they are entitled may file a complaint with the U. S. Department of Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS)[under a U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Office of Personnel Management Memorandum of Understanding (refer to Federal Employment Info Line Sheet EI-44, Special Complaint Procedures for Veterans)].
The Department of Labor's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy and Veterans' Employment and Training Service developed an "expert system" to help veterans receive the preferences to which they are entitled. Two versions of this system are currently available, both of which, help the veterans determine the type of preference to which they are entitled, the benefits associated with the preference and the steps necessary to file a complaint due to the failure of a Federal Agency to provide those benefits. The Internet address for the veterans' preference program is http://www.dol.gov/
elaws/vetspref.htm. (State Employment Service Offices have veteran representatives available to assist veterans in gaining access to this information.)
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If you are applying as a preference eligible veteran, in addition to the required application materials as stated in the vacancy announcement, you must submit, as proof of eligibility:
Five Point Preference: Your DD-214 (Please submit the DD-214 (Member Copy 4) for the period of service for which you are claiming Veterans’ Preference)
Ten Point Preference: Your DD-214 (Please submit the DD-214 (Member Copy 4) for the period of service for which you are claiming Veterans’ Preference), Standard Form 15 and the proof requested on the form.
Click link below to access an exact replica of Standard Form 15 Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF15.PDF):
http://www.opm.gov/forms/html/sf.asp
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Last Modified: June 11, 2013