Veteran

Veterans’ Appointment Authorities; Beyond Preference and Points

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While you may be familiar with veterans’ preference and points, there are other hiring eligibilities for which you may be eligible. In order to be considered for some of these hiring authorities, be sure to check-off your eligibility in your USAJOBS Profile, mark the eligibility(ies) under which you wish be considered when you apply, and include your eligibility(ies) on your resume. While you are not entitled to be hired under these authorities, you can let your network know that you are eligible. Here are some of the more common veterans’ hiring authorities:

• Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA). VRA is a non-competitive appointment authority; this means you can be appointed without competition if you qualified. Qualifications include: serving during a war or being in receipt of a campaign badge; OR are a disabled veteran; OR are in receipt of an Armed Forces Service Medal for participation in a military operation; OR have separated within the past 3 years; AND separated under honorable conditions. VRA can be used for appointments of GS-11 or below.

• 30% or More Compensably Disabled Veteran: this is also a non-competitive appointment authority. To be eligible, you must have a service-connected disability rating of at least 30% from the Department of Veterans Affairs; OR be retired from active military service with a 30% or more disability rating. You do not get “extra credit” for having more than a 30% disability rating. There is no grade level restriction for appointments made under this authority.

• Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA). VEOA applies only when the agency is filling a permanent, competitive service position and has decided to solicit candidates from outside its own workforce. It allows eligible veterans and preference eligibles to apply to announcements that would otherwise be open to so called “status” candidates, i.e., “current competitive service employees and certain prior employees who have earned competitive status.” To qualify, your latest discharge must be under honorable conditions AND you must be a preference eligible OR a veteran who has completed 3 or more years of active duty. You receive no points when you apply under VEOA, nor does VEOA entitle you to be selected ahead of non-preference eligible applicants. Again, there is no grade restriction to this appointment authority.

• Disabled Veterans Enrolled in a VA Training Program. Disabled veterans eligible for training under the VA vocational rehabilitation program may enroll for training or work experience at an agency under the terms of an agreement between the agency and VA. While enrolled in the VA program, the veteran is not a Federal employee for most purposes but is a beneficiary of the VA.

The above is not intended to be a complete discussion of these authorities. In all cases, final determinations of eligibility for these and other appointment authorities is the responsibility of the agency Human Resources (HR) office. Applicants should be sure to include readable copies of their DD-214 and SF-15 (if applicable) when applying for federal positions.

When Veterans’ Preference Doesn’t Apply

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I’m a Veteran, So Why Don’t I Get “Points?” Veterans’ preference, as most of your know, is used in federal hiring. However, not all veterans receive “points” and points to do not apply in all federal hiring situations. Let’s look a couple of situations where veterans’ preference does not count:

  • Veterans’ preference is not applicable for internal promotions, reassignments, and other personnel actions regarding existing federal employees. Veterans preference points apply only in announcements that are open to all citizens / all sources / delegated examining. If you are applying for positions open to status applicants or are being reassigned from one position to another, there is no consideration of veterans’ preference.
  • If you are applying for a position using your Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) eligibility, there is no consideration of veterans’ preference points. When you apply under VEOA, you are applying as a “status” applicant, and as noted above, veterans’ preference points are not considered for status postings.
  • You are not eligible for veterans’ preference points. Former military members at O-4 and above do not receive “points” unless they have been given a disability rating by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  • You received a dishonorable discharge. Only veterans discharged or released from active duty in the armed forces under honorable conditions are eligible for veterans’ preference. This means you must have an honorable or general discharge.
  • You are a “retired member of the armed forces.” Unless you have a disability rating OR you retired below the rank of major or its equivalent, you are not eligible for points.
  • You are applying for a position in the excepted, rather than the competitive service. Not all positions in the excepted service apply veterans’ preference points (although many do). If you are applying for a position in the excepted service that is exempt from 5 CFR 302, veterans preference does not apply.
  • You did not service during certain designated periods. If you do NOT meet the following, you are eligible for points (unless you have a service connected disability or received a Purple Heart):
    – 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 August 31, 2010, the last day of Operation Iraqi Freedom, OR
    – During the Gulf War, between August 2, 1990 and January 2, 1992, 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
    – Between April 28, 1952 and July 1, 1955 OR
    – In a war, campaign or expedition for which a campaign medal or badge has been authorized.
  • You have 0 Point Preference. If you were released or discharged from a period of active duty from the armed forces, after August 29, 2008, by reason of being the only surviving child in a family in which the father or mother or one or more siblings:
    1. Served in the armed forces, and
    2. Was killed, died as a result of wounds, accident, or disease, is in a captured or missing in action status, or is permanently 100 percent disabled or hospitalized on a continuing basis (and is not employed gainfully because of the disability or hospitalization), where;
    3. The death, status, or disability did not result from the intentional misconduct or willful neglect of the parent or sibling and was not incurred during a period of unauthorized absence.

Still not sure? Use the Department of Labor’s Veteran’s Preference Advisor which can be found at: http://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/vets/vetpref/mservice.htm.

Understanding Veterans’ Preference, Part 2/3

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This is the second part of our three-part article on veterans’ preference. In this article, we will discuss the various appointment authorities that federal HR offices may use to hire transitioning military members.

These special authorities represent a few of many appointing authorities that agencies can use entirely at their discretion. Veterans are not entitled to appointment under any of these authorities.

Veterans’ Recruitment Appointment (VRA)
VRA is an excepted authority that allows agencies to appoint eligible veterans without competition, if the applicant is:

  • in receipt of a campaign badge for service during a war or in a campaign or expedition; OR
  • a disabled veteran, OR
  • in receipt of an Armed Forces Service Medal for participation in a military operation, OR
  • a recently separated veteran (within the last 3 years), AND
  • separated under honorable conditions (this means an honorable or general discharge), you are VRA eligible.

Veterans can be appointed under this authority at any grade level up to and including a GS-11 or equivalent. This is an excepted service appointment. After successfully completing 2 years, the veteran will be converted to the competitive service. Veterans’ preference applies when using the VRA authority.

Agencies can also use VRA to fill temporary (not to exceed 1 year) or term (more than 1 year but not to exceed 4 years) positions. If a veteran is employed in a temporary or term position under VRA, he/she will not be converted to the competitive service after 2 years.

There is no limit to the number of times an applicant can apply under VRA.

Applicants must provide acceptable documentation of their preference or appointment eligibility. The member 4 copy of the DD214, “Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty,” is preferable. If claiming 10-point preference, the veteran will need to submit a Standard Form 15, “Application for 10-point Veterans’ Preference.”

Veterans Employment Opportunity Act of 1998, as amended (VEOA)
VEOA is a competitive service appointing authority that can only be used when filling permanent, competitive service positions. It cannot be used to fill excepted service positions. It allows veterans to apply to announcements that are only open to so called “status” candidates, which means “current competitive service employees.”

To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, the applicant’s latest discharge must be issued under honorable conditions (this means an honorable or general discharge), AND the applicant must be either:

  • a preference eligible (defined in title 5 U.S.C. 2108(3)), OR
  • a veteran who substantially completed 3 or more years of active service.

When agencies recruit from outside their own workforce under merit promotion (internal) procedures, announcements must state VEOA is applicable. VEOA eligibles are not subject to geographic area of consideration limitations. When applying under VEOA, the applicant must rate and rank among the best qualified when compared to current employee applicants in order to be considered for appointment. Veterans’ preference does not apply to internal agency actions such as promotions, transfers, reassignments and reinstatements.

Current or former Federal employees meeting VEOA eligibility can apply. However, current employees applying under VEOA are subject to time-in- grade restrictions like any other General Schedule employee.

“Active Service” under VEOA means active duty in a uniformed service and includes full-time training duty, annual training duty, full-time National Guard duty, and attendance, while in the active service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary of Defense.

“Preference eligible” under VEOA includes those family members entitled to derived preference.

Applicants must provide acceptable documentation of their preference or appointment eligibility. The member 4 copy of the DD214, “Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty,” is preferable. If claiming 10-point preference, applicants will need to submit a Standard Form 15, “Application for 10-point Veterans’ Preference.”

30% or More Disabled Veteran

30% or More Disabled Veteran allows any veteran with a 30% or more service-connected disability to be non-competitively appointed.

Veterans are eligible if they are:

  • retired from active military service with a service-connected disability rating of 30% or more; OR
  • have a rating by the Department of Veterans Affairs showing a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more.

This authority can be used to make permanent, temporary (not to exceed 1 year) or term (more than 1 year, but not more than 4 years) appointments in the competitive service. There is no grade level restriction.

When using this authority to appoint on a permanent basis, the candidate is first placed on a time limited appointment of at least 60 days and then converted to a permanent appointment at management’s discretion. When the authority is used for temporary or term appointments, the applicant will not be converted to a permanent appointment.

A copy of the applicant’s DD-214 and SF-15 must be supplied.

Disabled Veterans Enrolled in a VA Training Program
Disabled veterans eligible for training under the VA vocational rehabilitation program may enroll for training or work experience at an agency under the terms of an agreement between the agency and VA. While enrolled in the VA program, the veteran is not a Federal employee for most purposes but is a beneficiary of the VA.

Training is tailored to the individual’s needs and goals, so there is no set length. If the training is intended to prepare the individual for eventual appointment in the agency rather than just provide work experience, the agency must ensure that the training will enable the veteran to meet the qualification requirements for the position.

Upon successful completion, the host agency and VA give the veteran a Certificate of Training showing the occupational series and grade level of the position for which trained. The Certificate of Training allows any agency to appoint the veteran noncompetitively under a status quo appointment which may be converted to career or career-conditional at any time.

Understanding Veterans’ Preference and Employment Eligibility, Part 1/3

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If you are a transitioning military member, it is important to understand your veterans’ preference eligibility and options. Some former members may be eligible for as many as four different kinds of preference and/or consideration. As the applicant, it is your responsibility to ensure that you properly annotate your USAJOBS Profile with your eligibilities and upload the requisite documents (DD-214 and SF-15). It is also important that you apply correctly.

Veterans’ preference does not apply in all hiring situations. Let’s first look at when veterans’ preference applies:

Preference in hiring applies to permanent and time-limited positions in the competitive and excepted services of the executive branch. Preference does not apply to positions in the Senior Executive Service (SES). The legislative and judicial branches of the Federal Government also are exempt from the Veterans’ Preference Act unless the positions are in the competitive service (Government Printing Office, for example) or have been made subject to the Act by another law.

Preference applies when filling competitive and excepted service jobs, and when agencies make permanent, temporary, term, and other time-limited appointments. Veterans’ preference does not apply to promotion, reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer or reinstatement.

Veterans’ preference does not require an agency to use a particular appointment process. Agencies have broad authority under law to hire from any appropriate source of eligibles including special appointing authorities. An agency may consider candidates already in the civil service from an agency-developed merit promotion list or it may reassign a current employee, transfer an employee from another agency, or reinstate a former Federal employee. In addition, agencies are required to give priority to displaced employees before using civil service examinations and similar hiring methods.

To receive preference, a veteran must have been discharged or released from active duty in the Armed Forces under honorable conditions (i.e., with an honorable or general discharge). “Armed Forces” means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. However, the VOW (Veterans Opportunity to Work) To Hire Heroes Act of 2011 amended Title 5 and requires Federal agencies to treat active duty service members as veterans, disabled veterans, or preference eligibles for purposes of appointment in the competitive service.

VOW requires Federal agencies to treat active duty service members as veterans and preference eligibles when they submit a “certification” when applying for a Federal job. The “certification” is any written document from the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is signed. Therefore, agencies must accept applications and consider for appointment and veterans’ preference any service member who submits a certification in lieu of a DD form 214. Prior to appointment, agencies must verify the service member is eligible for veterans’ preference, unless the service member is appointed under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 5534a, “Dual employment and pay during terminal leave from uniformed services.”

Military retirees at the rank of major, lieutenant commander, or higher are not eligible for preference in appointment unless they are disabled veterans. (This does not apply to Reservists who will not begin drawing military retired pay until age 60.)

For non-disabled users, active duty for training by National Guard or Reserve soldiers does not qualify as “active duty” for preference.

For disabled veterans, active duty includes training service in the Reserves or National Guard.

Our next article will look at the various kinds of preference.

8 Tips to Help you Move on from your Military Career

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Looking to Transition from Your Military Career? It’s certainly doable, but it does take a strategic approach. Follow these tips for a successful transition:

  • Give yourself enough time. Getting a federal job takes time under the best of circumstances. Most federal job postings receive as many as 400 to 1,000 or more applications—and many of those are from former military members. I was working with an agency that posted a grade 6 position; they received 1,200 applications and 900 of them were from 30% or more “compensably” rated vets. Give yourself at least 6 months (and more realistically, 12-18) to get a federal job; you should start applying at least 120 days before you leave the military.
  • Understand your veterans’ preference eligibilities. You are likely eligible to receive consideration as a vet in multiple ways (even for the same job). It is critical that you understand the various authorities, appropriately document your USAJOBS Profile, and use your various eligibilities appropriately. A later article will discuss the various veterans’ preference eligibilities and programs.
  • Create a targeted, federal style resume. Do not depend on your two-page resume to get you a federal job. Make sure you develop a federal resume; a federal resume is typically 4 to 6 pages.
  • Translate your military experience into civilian speak. Even if you are applying at the Department of Defense (DoD), do not assume that the Human Resources (HR) people who review your resume will understand your military experience or rank. Instead of referring to supervising soldiers, talk about supervising employees. Instead of saying that you led a battalion, talk about leading 500 employees.
  • Loose the acronyms. Your resume should not be acronym-laden. Again, HR people will not understand all of the military jargon and it makes your resume hard to read. And in most civilian organizations, it does not really matter whether you were associated with CENTCOM or EUCOM—or what ship you served on.
  • Make sure you answer the occupational questionnaire appropriately. Before deciding whether to apply for a job, look at the questionnaire. If you cannot provide the highest and best answer to every question, and back up your answers in your resume, it may not be the right job for you.
  • Apply for the right jobs. Getting a federal job requires, in addition to the above, applying for jobs for which you are truly qualified. That means that you already have the required specialized experience. Its not about “knowing” that you can do the job; its about proving that you already have. And make sure that your resume uses all of the key words from the job posting.
  • Be patient. The final step in getting a federal job is patience; it is likely that you will need to apply for multiple jobs. While it is certainly possible that you will get the first federal job you apply for, in my experience, it is not likely. So be prepared for your search and good luck!