FEDERAL AGENCY:

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

AUTHORIZATION:

Veterans Preference Act of 1944, Public Laws 78- 359, 93-508, 94-502, 95-520, 95-454, 97-72, 97-306, 98-543, 99-576, 101- 237, 102-16 and 102-568; Executive Order 11521, March 26, 1970.

OBJECTIVES:

To provide assistance to veterans in obtaining Federal employment.

TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:

Federal Employment. Place Cursor Here for Definition

USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:

Veterans may obtain employment information from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) offices. (1) Disabled veterans and certain wives or husbands, widows or widowers, and mothers of veterans receive 10 points added to earned eligible ratings in Civil Service examinations. (2) Veterans separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions before October 15, 1976, receive 5 points. As of October 15, 1976, 5 point veterans' preference is awarded to veterans with campaign and expeditionary medals or who served on active duty during the period beginning August 2, 1990, and ending January 2, 1992. (3) Under the Veterans Readjustment Appointment (VRA) Program, excepted appointments of eligible Vietnam-era veterans and post-Vietnam-era veterans may be made by agencies to positions in the competitive service up to grade GS-11 in accordance with regulations issued by OPM. Veterans must meet minimum qualification requirements for the positions. Written tests, if required, may be waived for veterans readjustment appointees by an agency. Eligible veterans must have served more than 180 days active duty and have other than a dishonorable discharge from military service. (4) Under the special appointing authority for 30 percent or more disabled veterans, veterans with service-connected disability ratings of 30 percent or more may be appointed noncompetitively to any grade level in the competitive service. (5) OPM became responsible for planning, implementing and monitoring the Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action Program (DVAAP) in the Federal service on October 1, 1982. Agencies must have current DVAAP plans for the employment and advancement and retention of disabled veterans.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:   (1) Five-point preference is given to veterans separated under honorable conditions, and who served on active duty in the armed forces of the United States during certain periods of time or have a campaign or expeditionary medal. Ten-point preference is given to disabled veterans and certain wives or husbands, widows or widowers, and mothers of veterans. (2) Certain veterans who served in the armed forces after the period August 5, 1964, are eligible for a veterans readjustment appointment. (3) Public Law 94-502 authorizes Federal agencies to provide unpaid training or work experience, as a part of the Department of Veterans Affairs vocational rehabilitation for a disabled veteran. Such training may be designed to provide noncompetitive appointment.

Beneficiary Eligibility:   Non-disabled veterans, disabled veterans and certain wives or husbands, widows, widowers, and mothers of veterans.

Credentials/Documentation:   For veterans preference, general proof of honorable separation such as discharge certificate or DD Form 214. In addition, for 10-point preference, a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs or military department certifying existence of service- connected disability. When the 10-point preference is based on the award of a Purple Heart, official documentation of the award is sufficient.

Pre-application Coordination:   This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure:   By application forms available from Service Centers of the Office of Personnel Management and from Federal agency personnel offices. Veterans eligible for the noncompetitive appointment mentioned above should make personal contact with the Federal agency where they would like to be considered for employment.

Award Procedure:   None.

Deadlines:   Under Public Law 95-454, retired members of the armed forces will no longer be considered preference eligible as of October 1, 1980, unless they are disabled veterans or retired below the rank of Major or the equivalent. Under Public Law 97-306, enacted October 14, 1982, a 2-year minimum active duty service condition for those entering military service after September 7, 1980, or the full period for which called or ordered to active duty, must be met, unless they are disabled veterans.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:   Not applicable.

Appeals:   Not applicable.

Renewals:   Not applicable.

ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:   Not applicable.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:   Not applicable.

POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:   Not applicable.

Audits:   Not applicable.

Records:   Not applicable.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION:

Account Identification:   24-0100-0-1-805.

Obligations:   (Salaries and expenses) Obligations are devoted to administration, and are not separately identifiable.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:   Not applicable.

As of September 30, 2001, 480,464 received assistance, veterans or 26.9 percent of the non-Postal Federal work force, excluding Army and Air Force National Guards. Disabled veterans totaled 81,131 or 16.9 percent of these veterans. There were 11,059 veterans' readjustment appointments in the Federal work force. Data are not yet available for fiscal year 2002.

REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:

"Veteran Preference," EL- 3 (8/95); "Special Appointing Authorities for Veterans," EL-4 (8/95); "Medical Disqualification of Preference Eligibles," EL-8 (8/95); "Job Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities", EL-11 (8/95) (for use by Disabled Veterans); Regulations: 5 CFR 211, 5 CFR 213, 5 CFR 307 and 5 CFR 720.

INFORMATION CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:   For further information contact the National Office shown below under the Headquarters Office listing.

Headquarters Office:   For information on Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action Programs, contact: Office of Diversity, Employment Service, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 1900 E Street, NW., Room 2445, Washington, DC 20415. Telephone: (202) 606-1059. Contact: Armando Rodriguez. For information on Veterans' Preference and Special Hiring Authorities for Veterans, contact: Office of Staffing Reinvention, Employment Service, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Room 6500, 1900 E Street, NW., Washington, DC 20415. Telephone: (202) 606-0830. Contact: Pat Paige.

Web Site Address:  
http://www.opm.gov

EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:

Not applicable.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:

Not applicable.

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