Veterans' Preference: what it is and how to claim it

What it is and where it comes from

The federal Department of Labor defines it plainly: veterans' preference gives eligible veterans preference in appointment over many other applicants. It is not a program or a benefit you apply for separately; it is a rule of the federal hiring system.

Its legal basis is Section 2108 of Title 5 of the United States Code, with later adjustments such as those in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-163). That is the law defining who is a «preference eligible», which is why an agency cannot change the rules on its own.

Puerto Rico has one of the strongest military service traditions in the United States, and at the same time a concrete federal presence where that preference gets used: Fort Buchanan, the VA Caribbean healthcare system, federal agencies with offices on the island. For thousands of discharged Puerto Ricans, this is not theory.

Who qualifies

First comes the discharge: it must have been under honorable or general conditions. A discharge under other conditions closes the door before anything else is examined.

Then comes the service period. Among the eligible groups are those who served on active duty for 180 consecutive days or more after September 11, 2001 and were honorably discharged, along with those who served during the wartime periods and campaigns the law recognizes, and disabled veterans.

And there is an exclusion that surprises many people: military retirees at the rank of major, lieutenant commander or above are not eligible for preference unless they are disabled veterans. If you served as a senior officer and retired, verify your case before claiming it on an application.

5 points or 10 points: which document each one needs

The practical difference between the two preferences is not only the points: it is the paperwork, and that is where most claims fall apart.

• 5-point preference: applies to veterans who served during the periods or campaigns the law recognizes, discharged under honorable conditions. Document: the DD-214, the certificate of release or discharge, which shows the character of service.
• 10-point preference: applies mainly to veterans with a service-connected disability and to certain eligible family members. Documents: the DD-214, form SF-15 («Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference») and a letter from the VA regional office stating the disability percentage.
• The SF-15 and supporting documentation are submitted to the agency where you are applying, not to a central office that distributes them.
• Without the documents, the agency cannot adjudicate the preference even if you are eligible. Eligibility is not presumed: it is proven.

Where it applies and where it does not

The Department of Labor puts it in one line: veterans' preference applies to all new appointments in the competitive service and many in the excepted service. The word to underline is «new».

Because the limit comes in the same line: preference does not guarantee veterans a job, and it does not apply to internal agency actions such as promotions, transfers, reassignments and reinstatements. If you are already a federal employee competing for an internal promotion, your veteran status gives you no points in that process. That distinction explains half the frustration you read in the forums.

Even so, always document your veteran status. There are veteran-specific hiring authorities that work through paths separate from point preference, and you cannot benefit from what the agency does not know applies in your case.

If the agency ignores it, you have recourse

This is the part almost nobody explains and the one most worth knowing. The Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (Public Law 105-339, known as VEOA) established a procedure for filing complaints when preference rights are violated, with its appeal process, and designated veterans' preference violations as prohibited personnel practices.

«Prohibited personnel practice» is not decorative language in the federal system: it is the category that triggers the civil service's investigation and remedy mechanisms. If you believe an agency passed over you while you had documented preference, you are not facing a bad day; you are facing something the law classifies and addresses.

The Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) maintains the Veterans' Preference Advisor, an official tool where you can review which preference you might be entitled to before claiming it, and from which the complaint process is explained. Keep a copy of everything you submitted and the date you submitted it: in a complaint, that evidence is the case.

How to claim it on USAJOBS

Indicate your preference in your USAJOBS profile and also in each application, the profile alone is not enough, because each announcement's questionnaire asks you again. Upload the DD-214 to your saved documents and, if you are going for 10 points, upload the completed SF-15 and the VA letter with the disability percentage as well.

A logistics tip that saves grief: have the documents scanned as legible PDFs before the announcement you want opens. Federal announcements close at an exact time and the system does not wait for you to track down a copy of your DD-214.