SUBJECT:     Amendments to the Veterans Employment
             Opportunities Act of 1998

The attached memorandum from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) introduces some very important amendments to the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) of 1998.

• Veterans who wish to take advantage of the increased access to jobs under the VEOA must compete under the Merit Promotion Procedures (MPP) of an agency. If selected, they will be given a career-conditional appointment in the competitive service. Prior to these amendments, they were given Schedule B appointments.
• These provisions are retroactively effective to October 31, 1998. This means that Schedule B appointments made under the VEOA must be converted to career or career-conditional appointments if they competed under a Merit Promotion announcement. However, if the veteran was given a Schedule B appointment but did not compete under merit promotion, he/she must still compete via MPP to obtain a competitive appointment, as prescribed in the law.
• The new law authorizes OPM to regulate the circumstances where veterans have substantially completed an initial tour of military service, but are released short of the 3 years minimum service required in the original VEOA, to be appointed under this authority. OPM will be issuing interim regulations to implement the new law. In the interim regulations, OPM will propose that agencies determine on a case-by-case basis, if applicants meet the "substantial" standard established in the regulation. Agencies should use ZBA-Pub.L.106-117, Sec 511 as the legal authority for any new appointments. This new authority code is effective December 1, 1999, and may be used with nature of action codes 100, 101, 500, and 501.

A document with questions and answers about the new law is also attached for your information and use. Both of these documents may be accessed electronically at http://www.opm.gov/veterans/html/veoaaiag.htm.