Savvy Consumer: Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents

Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents
2004 Edition

Workplace Benefits

Some benefits for veterans and their dependents are administered by agencies other than the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Unemployment Compensation

Weekly unemployment compensation may be paid to discharged service members for a limited period of time. The amount and duration of payments are determined by individual states. To apply, veterans who do not begin civilian employment immediately after leaving military service should contact their nearest state employment office and present a copy of their military discharge, form DD-214.

Transition Assistance Program

The Transition Assistance Program (TAP) assists servicemembers and their spouses who are scheduled for separation from active duty. The program, a joint effort by the Departments of Defense, Labor, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs, provides employment and training information to service members within 12 months of their separation from the military. Together with the military services, these agencies offer a number of services and benefits designed to equip separating servicemembers with the basic job-hunting skills, tools and self-confidence necessary to successfully find employment in the civilian workforce.

Three-day workshops to help separating service members and their spouses make the transition from military to civilian employment are conducted at military installations. Additional information is available through the Veterans Employment and Training Service staff in each state. Addresses and phone numbers are listed in the government section of telephone directories under Department of Labor and online at (http://www.dol.gov/vets/aboutvets/contacts/main.htm).

Pre-separation Counseling

The military services are required by law to provide individual pre-separation counseling at least 90 days prior to each servicemember's discharge. These sessions present information on education, training, employment assistance, National Guard and reserve programs, medical benefits and financial assistance to separating service members.

Verification of Military Experience and Training

The Verification of Military Experience and Training (VMET) Document, DD Form 2586, helps service members verify previous experience and training to potential employers, write their resumes, prepare for job interviews, negotiate credits at schools, and obtain certificates or licenses. VMET documents are available only through Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps Transition Support offices and are intended for separating or retiring servicemembers who have at least six months of active duty service. Servicemembers should obtain VMET documents from their Transition Support office within 12 months of separation or 24 months of retirement.

Transition Bulletin Board

This Web site (www.dmdc.osd.mil/ot/) allows employers to make advertisements for short-term or long-term jobs available online. It also contains business opportunities, a calendar of transition seminars, job fairs, information on military and veterans associations, transition products and services, training and educational opportunities, as well as other announcements pertinent to separating personnel.

DoD Transportal

This DoD Web site (www.dodtransportal.org/dav/lsnmedia/LSN/dodtransportal/) supplements the various transition assistance program resources available to separating military personnel. In addition to providing the locations and phone numbers of all Transition Assistance Offices, the site offers mini-courses on conducting successful job search campaigns, writing resumes, using the Internet to find a job and links to job search and recruiting Web sites. A DoD job search Web site (http://www.dod.jobsearch.org) features online resume entry, job advertisements and referrals.

Veterans' Workforce Investment Program

The Veterans' Workforce Investment Program provides employment and training programs to increase employment, job retention, earnings, and occupational skills of recently separated veterans and veterans who have service-connected disabilities, significant barriers to employment or who served on active duty in the armed forces during a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized. These programs may be conducted through state or local public agencies, community-based organizations or private, nonprofit organizations. Job counseling, resume preparation, job development and placement services are also available to help homeless veterans re-enter the workforce. Veterans should contact their nearest state employment service office for more information.

State Employment Services

In addition to providing unemployment compensation information, Workforce Career or One-Stop Centers provide a variety of services for veterans seeking employment, including current employment information, education and training opportunities, job counseling and job search workshops and resume preparation assistance. Disabled Veterans Outreach Program specialists at these offices and at VA regional offices and readjustment counseling centers (Vet Centers) work closely with employers, veterans service organizations, community-based organizations and other government agencies to promote job development and improve employment and training opportunities for disabled veterans. Local Veterans Employment Representatives (LVER) are also available to provide specialized services for veterans in each state, visit the Internet for additional information on DVOP and LVER programs at (http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/fact/Employment_Services_fs01.htm).

Re-employment Rights

A person who left a civilian job to enter active duty in the armed forces may be entitled to return to the job after discharge or release from active duty. Re-employment rights are provided for those who served in the active duty or reserve components of the armed forces. To be re-employed, four requirements must be met: (1) the person must give advance notice of military service to the employer; (2) the cumulative absence from the civilian job shall not exceed five years (with some exceptions); (3) the person must submit a timely application for re-employment; and (4) the person must not have been released with a dishonorable or other punitive discharge.

The law calls for the returning veteran to be placed in the job as if the veteran had remained continuously employed. This means that the person may be entitled to benefits that are based on seniority, such as pensions, pay increases and promotions. The law also prohibits discrimination in hiring, promotion or other advantages of employment on the basis of military service. Applications for re-employment should be given, verbally or in writing, to a person authorized to represent the company for hiring purposes. A record should be kept of the application. If there are problems gaining re-employment, the employee should contact the Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) in the state of the employer concerned. This applies to private sector, as well as state, local and federal government employees, including the Postal Service.

Employees should contact their agency personnel office if they have questions about their employment restoration rights. If a veteran is not re-employed or is not re-employed properly, the veteran has the right to file a complaint with VETS. Additionally, federal employees may appeal directly to the Merit Systems Protection Board. Non-federal employees may file complaints in U.S. district court. Additional information is available on the Internet from the Department of Labor (http://www.dol.gov/vets).

Federal Jobs for Veterans

Certain veterans, principally those who are disabled or who served in a hostile area, are entitled to preference in competing for civil service jobs being filed by open competitive exams. This preference includes five or 10 points added to passing scores in examinations and preference in job retention. Preference also is provided for certain unremarried widows and widowers of deceased veterans and for mothers of military personnel who died in service; spouses of service-connected disabled veterans who are no longer able to work in their usual occupations; and mothers of veterans who have permanent and total service-connected disabilities. Individuals interested in federal employment should contact the personnel offices of the federal agencies in which they wish to be employed. Visit the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Web site (http://www.usajobs.opm.gov) for information on creating a federal resume or to post a resume online.

Veterans enjoy many advantages in applying for federal jobs, but they are not guaranteed a position. Federal agencies are required by law to adhere to Merit System Principles in making appointments. Agencies have broad authority under law to select from a number of different sources of candidates. An agency can, for example, hire from an open competitive list of eligibles in which case veterans' preference applies.

Alternatively, the agency can reinstate a former federal employee, transfer someone from another agency, reassign someone from within the agency, make a selection under merit promotion procedures, or appoint someone noncompetitively who is eligible under a special appointing authority such as a Veterans Readjustment Appointment or the special authority for 30 percent or more disabled veterans. Veterans' preference is not a factor here, and the decision of which authority to use rests solely with the agency.

Finally, veterans who are eligible under the more recent Veterans' Employment Opportunities Act enjoy the right to apply for jobs under agency merit promotion procedures that are closed to others outside the federal service. However, veterans receive no preference under this authority.

Veterans Readjustment Appointment

The Veterans Readjustment Appointment (VRA) authority allows federal agencies to appoint eligible veterans to jobs without competition. Such appointments may lead to conversion to career or career-conditional employment upon satisfactory work for two years. Veterans seeking VRA appointment should apply directly to the agency where they wish to work.

OPM administers the Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action Program, which requires that all federal departments and agencies establish plans to facilitate the recruitment and advancement of disabled veterans. OPM provides information on veterans' federal service employment rights and privileges on the Internet (http://www.opm.gov/veterans).

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