Rules finalized for special veteran hiring authority

The Office of Personnel Management finalized rules Thursday governing a special hiring authority that will allow certain veterans into the civil service without competition.

The final regulations, effective Jan. 3, 2006, implement some provisions of the 2002 Jobs for Veterans Act, which significantly changed eligibility requirements for positions opened under the noncompetitive hiring authority known as Veterans Recruitment Appointments.

With VRAs, agencies can hire qualified veterans for normally competitive positions up to the GS-11 level without advertising the opening. After hires complete two years of satisfactory service, agencies must convert the positions to permanent civil service posts.

Although employees hired by VRA do not have to compete in the hiring process, they can still be reassigned, promoted, demoted or transferred according to standard procedures.

Before the 2002 act, veterans had to have served in active duty for more than 180 days during the past 10 years, with the last period of active duty being more than 90 days, to qualify for a VRA. Disabled veterans did not have to meet the 180-day condition.

New eligibility requirements are more specific. Veterans qualify only if they are disabled, served in an actual war, received an Armed Forces Service Medal, or were discharged within the past three years. If veterans meet one of the first three qualifications, however, there is no longer a 180-day minimum service requirement.

The law also changed the name of the hiring authority from Veteran Readjustment Appointment to Veterans Recruitment Appointment.

VRA candidates still must meet the basic qualifications for positions and use of VRA authority is entirely discretionary for agencies.

Individuals interested in receiving a VRA should contact agencies directly to inquire about opportunities, as agencies are not required to advertise the positions to the general public, according to OPM. USAJOBS.gov, the government's central online job database, lists a number of positions to which VRA-eligible individuals may apply.

Job candidates can receive more than one VRA as long as they meet the eligibility requirements each time.