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Veterans Advisory Council
Federal Veteran Hiring Authorities
Ready Supply of Needed Skills: Transitioning veterans are ready to supply the very skills the Federal Government needs. This talent pool can be a particularly effective match with agencies needing to fill technology-based positions and those helping to defend the homeland.
Besides the discipline and work ethic that military service instills, transitioning veterans have technical skills in areas of critical importance: computers, communications, security, information gathering, and medical technology. Many already hold required security clearances for some Federal positions.
Work and Service Ethic: Transitioning veterans are eager to serve. The Department of Defense hires veterans for civilian positions at the highest rate of any Federal civilian employer, frequently because veterans are prepared to stay with the Government as an employer.
Hiring veterans is a win/win situation: veterans will find, in the words of Senator John McCain (Arizona), "the jobs of a lifetime." With veterans appointing authorities, agencies can quickly hire people with talent.
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Veterans Appointing Authorities |
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Veterans may be hired under the following three authorities:
Veterans' Recruitment Appointment (VRA)
30 Percent or More Disabled Veterans
Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA)
Veterans' Recruitment Appointment (VRA) (Formerly, Veterans' Readjustment Appointment)
What it provides: VRA allows appointment of eligible veterans up to the GS-11 or equivalent. Veterans are hired under excepted appointments to positions that are otherwise in the competitive service. After the individual satisfactorily completes 2 years of service, the veteran must be converted noncompetitively to a career or career-conditional appointment.
When to use it: VRA can be a good tool for filling entry-level to mid-level positions.
Who is eligible: VRA eligibility applies to the following categories:
Disabled veterans;
Veterans who served on active duty in the Armed Forces during a war declared by Congress, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized;
Veterans who, while serving on active duty in the Armed Forces, participated in a military operation for which the Armed Forces Service Medal was awarded; and Veterans separated from active duty within 3 years.
Benefits to the hiring manager: VRA allows a manager to fill positions quickly by appointing eligible veterans to positions for which they are qualified, up to and including GS-11 or equivalent, without issuing a vacancy announcement.
30 Percent or More Disabled Veterans
What it provides: This authority enables a hiring manager to appoint an eligible candidate to any position for which he or she is qualified, without competition. Unlike the VRA, there's no grade-level limitation. Initial appointments are time-limited, lasting more than 60 days; however, you can noncompetitively convert the individual to permanent status at any time during the time-limited appointment.
When to use it: This authority is a good tool for filling positions at any grade level quickly.
Who is eligible: Eligibility applies to the following categories:
Disabled veterans who were retired from active military service with a disability rating of 30 percent or more; and Disabled veterans rated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (within the preceding year) as having a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more.
Benefits to the hiring manager: A 30 percent or more disabled veteran appointment is an effective way to quickly appoint eligible disabled veterans to any position for which they are qualified without issuing a vacancy announcement.
Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA)
What it provides: This flexibility gives eligible veterans access to jobs that otherwise only would have been available to status employees. In VEOA appointments, veterans are not accorded preference as a factor, but they are allowed to compete for job opportunities that are not offered to other external candidates. A VEOA eligible who is selected will be given a career or career-conditional appointment.
When to use it: Agencies may appoint VEOA eligibles who have competed under agency merit promotion announcements when they are recruiting from outside their workforce.
Who is eligible: VEOA eligibility applies to the following categories of veterans:
Preference eligibles;
and Service personnel separated after 3 or more years of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions.
Benefits to the hiring manager: The VEOA allows managers to consider highly qualified, nonstatus veterans without using more restrictive competitive examination procedures.
Veterans' Recruitment Appointment (VRA) Authority, Public Law 107-288, the Jobs for Veterans Act, enacted November 7, 2002, revised the eligibility requirements for a Veterans' Readjustment Appointment (which the act redesignated as a Recruitment Appointment (VRA)). Select the links below to access:
Veterans' Recruitment Appointment (VRA) Authority, Public Law 107-288
VRA Regulations: 5 CFR part 307
38 U.S.C. 4211, et seq.
Excepted Service Appointments for Veterans' Recruitment Appointment. Select the links below to access the codified procedures for appointments that are "excepted" from the usual rules of hiring:
5 U.S.C. 3320
5 CFR part 302 subpart B (Eligibility Standards)
30 Percent or More Disability:
5 U.S.C. 3112; 5 CFR 316.302, 316.402, and 315.707.
Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) (Public Law 105-339), as amended by Section 511 of the Veterans Millennium Health Care Act (Public Law 106-117) of November 30, 1999. Select the links below to access:
Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA)
Veterans Millennium Health Care Act (Public Law 106-117)
5 U.S.C. 3304(f)
5 CFR 315.611
5 CFR 335.106
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Implementation Guidelines |
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Veterans appointing authorities can bring qualified veterans to the fore and speed the selection process. This section presents guidelines for:
Veterans' Recruitment Appointment (VRA)
30 Percent or More Disabled Veterans
Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA)
Veterans' Recruitment Appointment (VRA)
To hire a VRA eligible veteran:
Step 1: For positions up to a GS-11 (the promotion potential of the position is not a factor), determine if the candidate is eligible under this authority.
The following individuals are eligible for a VRA appointment:
Disabled veterans; Veterans who served on active duty in the Armed Forces during a war declared by Congress, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized; Veterans who, while serving on active duty in the Armed Forces, participated in a military operation for which the Armed Forces Service Medal was awarded; and Veterans separated from active duty within the past 3 years.
There is no minimum service requirement, but the individual must have served on active duty, not active duty for training. (NOTE: For veterans who have less than 15 years of education, there is a training or education requirement.)
Step 2: Subject to veterans' preference, appoint any VRA eligible who meets the qualifications requirements for the position. No announcement is required.
Applying Veterans' Preferences: If an agency has two or more VRA candidates and one or more is a preference-eligible veteran, the agency must apply the veterans' preference procedures in 5 CFR part 302.
Click this link to learn more about veterans' preference.
30 Percent or More Disabled Veterans
To hire a 30 percent or more disabled veteran:
Step 1: Determine if the candidate is eligible under this authority. A current VA letter or military discharge papers substantiating the disability is required.
Step 2: Appoint an eligible, disabled veteran who meets the qualifications for the position to a temporary appointment of more than 60 days or to a term appointment. You may convert the appointment, without a break in service, to career or career-conditional at any time during the temporary or term appointment. Veterans' preference does not apply and no announcement is required.
Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA)
Agencies must allow eligible veterans to apply for positions announced under merit promotion procedures when the agency is recruiting from outside its own workforce. Veterans may be hired through the competitive process using the steps summarized below.
Step 1: Consider the strategic benefit in filling the position using transitioning veterans.
Step 2: Determine recruiting strategy. Consider posting announcement at Veterans Transition Centers or with veterans organizations.
Step 3: Announce the vacancy on USAJOBS.
Step 4: Consider VEOA applicants with other status candidates.
Step 5: Determine the most qualified candidates. Determine which applicants are qualified, rate them based on their qualifications, and issue a selection certificate in accordance with the agency merit promotion plan.
Step 6: Select a candidate. If a VEOA eligible is selected, he/she is given a career-conditional or career (as appropriate) appointment.
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"It is a priority of President George W. Bush, and it is my personal mission, to see that each and every veteran who wants to serve his or her country as public servants be given the chance to do so. Veterans have served our country with distinction; they have put their civilian lives on hold to defend our democratic principles and protect our friends around the world; and, they have sacrificed in ways we cannot begin to understand."
- Kay Coles James, Director, Office of Personnel Management |
Use special hiring authorities.
Use an open-continuous announcement for VRA eligibles.
Establish a continuous recruitment method.
Target veterans organizations.
Attract departing military personnel.
Use special hiring authorities. The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) established a new recruitment and hiring procedure designed to increase the hiring of disabled veterans. RRB uses the special hiring authority for 30 percent or more disabled veterans, with recruitment targeted to veterans employment offices and organizations.
Use an open-continuous announcement for VRA eligibles. The Federal Correctional Complex in Florence, CO, found that competitive examining certificate candidates often did not have the necessary qualifications. The best candidates seemed to be applicants who were finishing their military duty in Colorado Springs. The HR staff decided to create an open-continuous Corrections Officer announcement for VRA eligibles only to reach these qualified candidates.
Establish a continuous recruitment method. The U.S. Air Force's Air Mobility Command (AMC) has built a pipeline of qualified veterans for its information technology support positions by partnering with OPM for recruiting and examining assistance. AMC wanted to strengthen its career transition efforts and leverage the competencies of its existing military workforce by implementing a continuous recruiting method with minimal administrative effort. AMC has found that standing inventories can be an effective means of maintaining quality candidate pools for positions with regularly recurring vacancies. The large number of IT support positions and the relatively high turnover rate in this field made the standing inventory solution the right one for AMC.
Target veterans organizations. Agencies including the Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives provide job announcements to national and community-based veterans organizations and request their participation in agency-sponsored activities. They also network with local veterans community centers, VA hospitals, and referral services.
Attract departing military personnel. The Department of State provides recruitment information to military installations and organizations using technology, as well as by advertising in the "Army/Navy Times Group Worldwide" newspapers.
The U.S. Coast Guard found that many traditional recruiting solutions did not yield candidates with required maritime/Coast Guard expertise. The Coast Guard needed an effective vehicle to hire former active duty service members into selected positions. It found this vehicle through the VEOA.
Reference Manuals
Web Tools
Programs
Reports
Reference Manuals
OPM VetGuide explains the special rights and privileges that veterans enjoy in Federal civil service employment. The guide conveniently summarizes in one place material from many laws and regulations that affect the employment of veterans. The guide will help Federal human resources specialists ensure that veterans receive the advantages and entitlements they have earned.
OPM VetsInfo Guide provides general information about how the system works and how veterans' preference and the special appointing authorities for veterans operate within the system.
Web Tools
OPM Veterans Information. This site contains information for job-seeking veterans, veterans currently employed by the Federal Government, and Federal human resources specialists.
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. This system helps 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.
Online Directory of Veterans Service Organizations (VSO). The Office of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs publishes this online directory. This database-driven Web site allows you to access VSO information for possible recruitment purposes.
Programs
The Veteran Invitational Program (VIP) targets veterans nationwide by providing informative educational tools and publications to Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) and Federal regional offices of Vet
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