Whether
you are a veteran who participated in Iraq or Afghanistan - or even World War II, Vietnam war, or
Grenada war - you will receive this preference so long as you were
honorably discharged or separated from the Armed Forces of the United
States.
If
you are claiming the ten-point veteran disability preference, you are
more fortunate than someone who is eligible for the ordinary
five-point preference. Why? Because veteran eligibles who have
service-connected disabilities and have extra ten points are placed
first at the top of the register in the order of their scores, except
for scientific and professional jobs.
That
simply means that you’re followed by all other eligibles, including
the five-point preference veterans, who are listed according to their
ratings. So if you’re a ten-point preference veteran, you’ll be
on the top of the list, even if your basic score is lower than the
top scorers. You’ll bump the other eligibles as if to say, “Move
down, move down, move down!” The so-called preference
eligibles who receive five points additional are listed with
the other eligibles (civilians) according to scores. On the other
hand, if you are a five-point preference veteran, it does not mean
that you will be ahead of those who make higher scores than yours. If
you score 75, including your five points, you won’t be listed above
a nonpreference eligible who scores 76. However, if you are a
preference eligible, you’ll be listed ahead of the nonpreference
eligibles who make the same scores as you.
Standard
Form 15
If
you’re claiming veteran preference, you’ll have to fill out and
submit Standard Form 15 to prove that you really served in the Armed
Forces of the United States.
Because
of the veteran preference, many who have retired from the Army, Navy,
and Air Force have been appointed to postal positions and other
Federal agency jobs.
In
the competitive tests for appointment to positions in the Postal
Service, these preference benefits are given to veterans under
certain conditions:
- Five points are added to the basic rating of an examinee who scores at least 70 percent (the passing grade). If you make a score of 70, your final score will be 75; if you score 98 on the exam, your final score will be 100. (The maximum points any veteran can get is 100.)
- Ten points are added to the basic rating of an examinee who scores 70 percent or above and who is:
- a. a disabled veteran or a veteran who has received a Purple Heart award. Physical requirements are waived for persons who receive this preference, so long as they can do efficiently the duties of a postal worker.
- b. the wife of a disabled veteran if the veteran is physically disqualified by his service-connected disability for civil service appointment to positions along the line of his prewar or usual occupation.
- c. the widow of a serviceman who died on active duty while serving in the Armed Forces, but only if she has not married again. (The law does not say whether she’ll be disqualified if she falls in love again.)
- d. the mother of a deceased or disabled veteran son or daughter, if she is either widowed, divorced, or separated, or if her present husband is permanently and totally disabled.
Veteran
Preference Explained
With
regard to the veteran preference, the Postal Bulletin, in
its issue of May 30, 1985 stated:
“The
following revises Handbook P-11, Personnel Operations, Section
241.31. The principal change is to incorporate the minimum service
requirements for veterans preference as provided in Section 408
of Public
Law 87.306, enacted
October 14, 1982, which amended Title 38 U.S.
Code of Federal Regulations Section
3103A. To obtain veterans preference in Federal employment, a person
who 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 perform active duty in the Armed Forces
during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign
badge has been authorized, and serve for 2 years or the full period
called or ordered to active duty. The time limit does not affect
eligibility for veterans preference based on peacetime service
exceeding 180 days from 1955 to 1976. This change is effective
immediately and will be included in a future transmittal letter.
Kinds of Veteran Preferences
Five point preference is given to
honorably separated veterans who served on active duty in
the Armed Forces of the United States:
- during a war; or
- During the period April 28, 1952 to July 1955; or
- In any campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized (exception: a person who enlisted after September 17, 1980; or began active duty on or after October 14, 1982, and has not previously completed 24 months of continuous active duty must perform active duty in the armed forces, during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized, and serve for 2 years or the full period called or ordered for active duty. The law excepts a person who is discharged or released from active duty (a) for a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty, or (b) under 10 U.S.C. 1171 or 1173 for hardship or other reasons.
- For more than 180 consecutive days any part of which occurred after January 31, 1955, and before October 15, 1976. (An initial period of active duty for training under the 6-month Reserve or National Guard Program does not count.)
Special
Consideration
Veterans
can file application with the Office of Personnel Management or the
Postal Service after an examination has closed. If
a current list of eligibles exists the veteran can apply within 120
days before or after separation. Ten-point preference veterans can
apply anytime to be placed on an existing eligibles list.
All
veterans, regardless of when they served on active duty, may file an
application for any examination which was open while he or she was in
the armed forces or which was announced within 120 days before or
after his or her separation, provided the veteran makes the
application within 120 days after an honorable discharge. A disabled
veteran receives 10 points preference and may file an application at
any time.
Veterans
Readjustment Points (VRAs)
VRA
appointments were originally limited to Vietnam Era Vets. Public Law
102-568 - October 29, 1992 greatly expanded VRA appointments to
millions of post Vietnam Era Vets. You may be eligible for a
non-competitive federal government job appointment. By law, federal
agencies may hire qualified veterans of the Armed Forces directly
under the Veteran’s Readjustment (VRA) program. Successful
completion of the VRA program leads to a permanent civil service
appointment.
The
features of the law are:
- If you served on active duty between August 5, 1964, and May 7, 1975, you have either 10 years after the date of your last separation from active duty, or until December 31, 1955, whichever is later.
- If you first entered active duty after May 7, 1975, you have 10 years after the date of your last separation from active duty, or until December 31, 1999, whichever is later.