Understanding Veteran's Preference Rights

"The day the soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership."

—Colin Powell

Special Note to Parents of Veterans

I wanted to talk to the special people who send their young men and women to serve in the armed forces in a way I wish someone could have spoken to my parents when I decided to served. Many parents (particularly mothers) of the young servicemen and servicewomen are unaware that they too are preference-eligible under limited circumstances. This eligibility depends on the disability rating of the child in the event he or she is injured while serving. I believe it is important to stay involved in the life of your child while he or she is serving. In many ways, the armed forces are similar to the job market. My suggestion is that each time your child goes on sick call, you ask your child to request a copy and send it to you. Maintain these copies in a special location in the event your child is discharged for medical reasons. After all, the military does misplace files. On another note, talk to your service member and encourage him or her to get an education while in the service. Many young servicemen and servicewomen spend their time partying like rock stars and find that it is difficult to get serious about the job market after their tours of duty. Many young service members do not really understand the civilian job market. They will articulate their knowledge, skills, and ability to potential employers, but they should have done volunteer work, enrolled in college level courses, and kept track of supervisors and managers who could one day provide letters of recommendation.

Veterans Are Not Told

In 1994, I passed the military entrance exam (ASVAB) and was then shipped to Parris Island, South Carolina, in a twelve-passenger van. I thus began my journey to becoming a United States Marine. At best, it was an intimidating experience. Once I arrived on the island and got out of that van, a drill instructor who stood about 6'5" (at least he seemed) came out of a dark building wearing a Smokey Bear cover, unpleasant as a pit of pissed off rattle snakes, and began demanding that we move it, move it, move it, you damn maggots, get off my bus and put your little nasty toes on those yellow footprints. I was senseless enough to wonder what we did wrong. I thought Full Metal Jacket was just a movie. Nonetheless, many of us did not know what civilian benefits were ahead of us. I sure do wish I could take back those days and find a book like the one you are about to read. We did have a foggy idea of the trouble ahead of us in the next thirteen weeks, though. Many veterans have a similarly foggy vision of veteran's preference rights and how they can benefit them.

Drawbacks to Veteran's Preference Rights

The good news is that most veteran's preference rights violations made by selecting officials in federal government are not made by veterans.

The bad news entails a drawback you might want to avoid. I'll use an example of a case I recently encountered. On about December 1, 2012, a female veteran who was honorably discharged after twenty years of active duty service applied for a job with a federal agency. She had already been employed by the federal agency when she submitted her application for a position the agency announced to all US citizens. The veteran was in a position that was a lower pay grade than the position she was seeking. The veteran hired into the federal government as a GS-5 and was seeking another position as a GS-11. Keep in mind the Veterans Recruitment Act permits a selecting official to hire a veteran into a position up to the GS-11 pay grade noncompetitively. When the veteran did not receive an interview and was subsequently not selected for the position, the veteran filed a complaint with the U S Department of Labor for veteran's preference rights (VEOA) violations. The Department of Labor found in the veteran's favor. When the agency did not comply with the Department of Labor's request to fix the veteran's preference claim violation, the veteran then filed a complaint with the US Merit System Protection Board. The board dismissed the complaint for lack of jurisdiction.

Here is the problem you may face under your preference eligibility rights: In the example mentioned above the board stated, "Under Title 5 CFR Section 302, an employee is not eligible to 'jump' from one pay grade to the next without first serving fifty-two weeks at the next lower pay grade." Regular pay grade increases usually go from GS-5 to GS-13 if the promotion potential is that high. In other words, no employee can move from GS-5 to GS-9 without doing a minimum of fifty-two weeks at the GS-7 grade level. Under the Veterans Recruitment Act (VRA), a veteran may be appointed to a grade level up to GS-11 if a selecting official chooses to have a heart. The danger of the VRA is that many selecting officials do not reach out to veterans and use the VRA certificate of eligible list. The exact reasons are unknown. The example I gave above was related to disability discrimination, which seems to be a common theme of the problems many veterans experience. I am strongly suggesting and pushing for a more consistent policy of VRA use with selections. You can help by contacting your Congressional representatives and asking them to get involved on this issue. Simply write or visit your representative and ask him or her to review the VRA and how agencies are using it. The VRA really has no effect because selecting officials may use it at their discretion. It is like having a criminal law in effect that allows prosecutors to act at their discretion in its enforcement.

Strengths and Limitations of This Book

This book gives you the knowledge you will need to understand why you may not get hired by the federal government. It is the only guide available to help you understand how to really navigate your veteran's preference rights through the federal system. The information I have provided here is a step in the right direction when researching jobs at www.usajobs.gov. No matter how much research I could have done for this book, the possibilities of games that are played are endless. There are so many different ways a federal agency can hire its staff, but your veteran's preference rights limit any unlawful activity. It is up to you to stop these violations from occurring. This book helps you limit some of...