Management: Recruitment and Selection
Veterans Preference
Requirements
North Dakota Century Code chapter 37-19.1 requires that certain veterans and spouses of qualifying veterans who are residents of North Dakota be granted preference in public employment. Therefore, this is a law that should be foremost in your mind as you proceed through the various steps of the selection process.
- Vacancy Announcement
At the time you are preparing the position vacancy announcement or advertisement, review the requirements of North Dakota Administrative Code 4-07-05-07 pertaining to veterans' preference:
"... To receive veterans preference, an applicant must submit the following documentation by the closing date:
- An applicant claiming veterans' preference shall provide a copy of report of separation DD-214.
- An applicant claiming disabled veterans' preference shall provide a copy of report of separation DD-214 and a letter less than one year old from the veterans' administration indicating the veteran's disability status.
- An applicant claiming veterans' preference as an eligible spouse of a deceased veteran shall provide a copy of the marriage certificate, the veteran's report of separation DD-214, and the veteran's death certificate.
- An applicant claiming disabled veterans' preference as an eligible spouse of a disabled veteran shall provide a copy of the marriage certificate, the veteran's report of separation DD-214, and a letter less than one year old from the veterans' administration indicating the veteran's disability status."
State on the position vacancy announcement that "veterans claiming preference must submit proof of eligibility (DD-214) by the closing date." The Application for Employment form (SFN 10950) requires that applicants attach proof of eligibility; however, it does not currently require that proof be submitted by the closing date. Therefore, it is important to document your requirements on the vacancy announcement or advertisement.
Veterans' preference does not apply when the position to be filled is announced internally only or when the position is a teacher or a superintendent of a school or a non-classified position serving as deputy or personal secretary to an elected or appointed official.
- Screening and Selection
The veterans' preference statute provides for two differing avenues for handling veterans' preference - one for those agencies choosing to have an established personnel system based upon merit principles and one for those that do not. A personnel system based on merit principles is competitive in nature with the objective to employ the most worthy applicant. [City of Bismarck v. Santineau, 509 N.W.2d 56 (N.D.1993)]
If an agency has an established personnel system, several steps must occur. First, objective criteria must be utilized to score applicants and should be established prior to receiving and reviewing applications. Second, the number of individuals to consider for interviews (which will become the certificate of eligibles) should be determined before receiving and reviewing applications. Qualified applicants are then arranged on a "registry" or listing according to the merit-based examination score created by following similar procedures to those stated in The Application Form and Resume chapter. A predetermined number of people for final consideration, typically a final interview, is then forwarded to the hiring authority from the registry, starting at the top with the highest scoring individual. This listing is called the "certificate of eligibles."
If an agency has an established personnel system, the scoring method must include points for veterans and disabled veterans as follows:
- 5 points will be added to a veteran's examination score** in a 100-point rating scale, 10 points to a disabled veteran's score; or
- If the rating scale totals other than 100 points, 5 percent of the scale's total points should be added to a veteran's score and 10 percent to a disabled veteran's score.
If veterans and nonveterans applied for a vacancy in an agency with an established personnel system,
- The disabled veteran on the certificate of eligibles, without regard to the examination score, is entitled to the position and is to be employed unless there is justifiable cause documented in writing to not employ him or her. If there is more than one disabled veteran on the certificate, the one with the highest score is to be employed unless there is justifiable cause documented in writing for not doing so.
- If no disabled veterans appear on the certificate of eligibles, but there are both veterans and nonveterans, applicants are to be considered in rank order by certificate score. The applicant with the highest score is to be employed unless there is justifiable cause to move to the applicant with the next highest certificate score.
Justifiable cause means "grounds for action that are in accord with sufficient reason, or that can be justified or defended as correct." [Dyer v. North Dakota Dep't of Human Servs., 498 N.W.2d 160 (N.D. 1993)] "Justifiable cause not to hire a veteran must be something specific to that individual which renders him or her unsuitable for the position. The fact that other candidates are better or more qualified should not be considered justifiable cause." [North Dakota Public Employment Law Update, April 1998] Justifiable cause can be determined through a thorough review of the application form and its attachments, the interview process, pre-selection tests, a thorough background check, and any other means utilized in the entire selection process to determine any applicant's qualifications for a position.
If an agency does not have an established personnel system and veterans and nonveterans have applied for the vacancy:
- Then a veteran who meets the minimum qualifications and is physically and mentally able to do the job is to be employed.
- The disabled veteran is entitled to employment above other veterans.
To find out if your selection process would fall under the definition of an established personnel system, contact your human resource manager, your agency head or legal counsel, or Human Resource Management Services.
Veterans' Preference Eligibility Requirements:
- Must be a North Dakota resident,
- Must have served in the active military forces during a period of war or received the armed forces expeditionary or other campaign service medal during an emergency condition, and
- Must have been discharged or released under other than dishonorable conditions.
- Spouse Eligibility
A spouse is entitled to receive veterans' preference if the veteran is unable to exercise right to preference because s/he is disabled or died due to a service-connected cause or died while in service. A spouse of a deceased veteran, to be eligible, must not have remarried. To receive the preference:
- The veteran must otherwise meet the veterans' preference eligibility requirements listed above.
- The unremarried spouse of a deceased veteran shall provide a copy of the marriage certificate, the DD-214, and the veteran's death certificate.
- The spouse of a disabled veteran shall provide a copy of the marriage certificate, the DD-214, and a letter less than one year old from the veterans' administration indicating the veteran's disability status.
- War Periods and Campaign Medals
Veterans preference information, including a listing of war periods and campaign medals, appears on the North Dakota Veterans Affairs web site.
**"Examination score" is the score given to a selection component or to the total score of all selection components. A selection component includes the application screening rating, a pre-selection test, an oral interview, or any other means utilized to determine an applicant's qualifications.
