What is the veterans’ preference in the hiring process and how can I make sure it is being applied correctly in my school district/school?

Oregon’s Veterans’ Preference Law requires districts and charters to grant a preference to qualified and eligible veterans and disabled veterans at each stage in the hiring and promotion process.  To be qualified for veterans’ preference, a veteran or disabled veteran must meet the minimum and any other special qualifications required for the position sought.  To be eligible for veterans’ preference a veteran or disabled veteran must provide certification they are a veteran or disabled veteran as defined by Oregon law.

The district or charter is not obligated to hire or promote a qualified and eligible veteran or disabled veteran.  The district or charter is obligated to interview all minimally qualified veterans or disabled veterans and to hire or promote a qualified or eligible veteran or disabled veteran if he or she is equal to or better than the top candidate after the veterans’ preference has been applied.

A veteran may request a written explanation of the reasons why they were not selected for the position.  Upon written request, the district or charter shall provide the reasons for not selecting the candidate.

Recruitment Procedures

All job postings or announcements will include a concise list of minimum and any special qualifications required for the position.  Job postings will include a statement that the district’s or charter’s policy is to provide veterans and disabled veterans with preference as required by law and the job posting will require applicants to provide certification of eligibility for preference, in addition to other requested materials.

Selection Procedures

A sample selection procedure follows:

Step 1:    Before the review of any applications the human resource director will establish an evaluation scoring guide based on the minimum and any special qualifications listed in the job posting.

Step 2:    The HR director will review the application materials using the above evaluation scoring guide to determine which applicants meet the minimum and any special qualifications listed in the job posting.  In assessing the applicant materials of a veteran or disabled veteran the human resource director shall evaluate whether the skill experience obtained in the military are transferable to the posted position.  In this step the district or charter does not apply a veterans’ preference.  Any applicants that do not meet the minimum and any special qualifications shall be removed from the applicant pool.

Step 3:    Based on Step 2, the human resource director determines who will be interviewed.  All qualified and eligible veterans or disabled veterans shall be given an opportunity to interview.

Step 4:    Interview questions and scoring sheets will be developed and each scoring sheet must be completed after each interview by the interviewers.

Step 5:    Following completion of the interviews, the human resource director shall complete the selection matrix and score the applicants based on the scoring sheets completed during interviews.  Veterans’ preference points must be applied by adding 5 points to an eligible veteran and 10 points to an eligible disabled veteran.

Step 6:    The human resource director makes the offer to the applicant with the highest final score. The district or charter is not obligated to hire or promote a qualified and eligible veteran or disabled veteran.

The district or charter is obligated to hire or promote a qualified or eligible veteran or disabled veteran if they are equal or better than the top candidate after the veterans’ preference has been applied.

A veteran may request a written explanation of the reasons why they were not selected for the position.  Upon written request, the district or charter shall provide the reasons for not selecting the candidate.

If you do not used a point-based application system, you must devise a way to give preference to the veteran at each step of the process.

Filing a Complaint

A veteran or disabled veteran is encouraged to contact the human resource office if they have any concerns or questions concerning the application of or the process used for veterans’ preference.

Relevant Oregon law: ORS 408.225 to 408.238, OAR 859-006-0450 to 839-006-0470.