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Department of Justice Support of Veterans' Preference

U.S. Department of Justice
Justice Management Division
Personnel Staff

Washington, D.C. 20530

July 17, 2007

MEMORANDUM FOR BUREAU HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICERS

FROM:            Raymond A. Pagliarini, Jr.
                         Director, Personnel Staff

SUBJECT:      Department of Justice Support of Veterans' Preference

In continued support of our long and outstanding record of employing veterans here at the Department of Justice, we would like to thank you for your ongoing commitment to utilize veterans' preference and veterans' hiring flexibilities. In current times of scarce resources, these flexibilities serve as vehicles for the Department to tap into a talented pool of highly experienced applicants with desired skill sets.

Veterans' preference recognizes the economic loss suffered by citizens who have served their country in uniform, restores veterans to a favorable competitive position for Government employment, and acknowledges the larger obligation owed to disabled veterans. In its present form, veterans' preference comes from the Veterans' Preference Act of 1944, as amended, and is now codified in various provisions of Title 5, United States Code. By law, veterans who are disabled or who served on active duty in the Armed Forces during certain specified time periods or in military campaigns are entitled to preference over others in hiring from competitive lists of eligibles. To receive preference, a veteran must have been discharged or released from active duty in the Armed Forces under honorable conditions.

In addition to veterans' preference, below are other veterans' hiring flexibilities that we continue to encourage you to support:

The Veteran's Recruitment Appointment (VRA) Authority is a special authority by which agencies can appoint eligible veterans without competition to positions at any grade level through General Schedule (GS) 11 or equivalent. (The promotion potential of the position is not a factor.) VRA appointees are hired under excepted appointments to positions that are otherwise in the competitive service. There is no limitation to the number of VRA appointments an individual may receive, provided the individual is otherwise eligible.

The Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) of 1998 as amended by Section 511 of the Veterans Millennium Health Care Act (Pub. Law 106-117) of November 30, 1999, provides that agencies must allow eligible veterans to apply for positions announced under merit promotion procedures when the agency is recruiting from outside its own workforce. A VEOA eligible who competes under merit promotion procedures and is selected will be given a career or career conditional appointment. Veterans' preference is not a factor in these appointments.

Additional information on veterans' preference and other veterans' hiring flexibilities can be found in the OPM VetGuide at Vet Guide for HR Professionals. If you or your staff have any questions, please contact Jeanarta Lee, DOJ Human Resources Policy Staff, on (202) 514-3663 or via electronic mail at Jeanarta.C.Lee2@usdoj.gov.

Updated November 8, 2021