Veterans get boost in federal job hiring

The old rules treated Iraq differently from other conflicts.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Veterans who have recently left the military received hiring preference for federal government jobs Tuesday, allowing them to join their brethren from previous military conflicts.
Congress extended the veterans' preference to all personnel who were honorably discharged after serving at least 180 consecutive days on active duty with any part of their service after Sept. 11, 2001.
The preference gives qualified veterans extra points on federal employment exams and requires federal agencies to hire a qualified veteran over anybody with similar test scores and qualifications.
Before the new rules went into effect Tuesday, the only veterans who qualified for the hiring preference were those who received a campaign medal for combat service or those who served during a major conflict designated by Congress. The last time Congress had extended preference to all who served during a particular time was for Operation Desert Storm in 1990-91.
"This now gives veterans' preference in hiring to individuals such as reservists and members of the National Guard who were called to active duty with the Armed Forces, whether or not they served in-country," said Jo Schuda, a spokeswoman for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Inspiration
Congress acted after Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, heard about former soldiers who were told they were not considered veterans under the hiring preference definition.
"There were units deployed for one year, two years, who had to leave their families," said Mark Bell, a Tiberi aide who served in Afghanistan as a reservist. "The least we could do is give them a leg up when they apply for federal jobs."
Bell, a former sergeant in the Columbus-based 342nd Military Police Company, heard about the problem from a fellow Afghanistan veteran, former Army Reserve Lt. Greg Falkowski. Now a retired captain, Falkowski was turned down for a job at the federal government campus in Columbus because his mission had him flying in and out of Afghanistan and he didn't have enough consecutive days in the theater for a campaign medal.
When Bell found out Falkowski would have qualified for the hiring preference if he had served during Desert Storm, he thought it must have been a mistake that Falkowski was turned down. It wasn't, so Bell worked with Tiberi's legal team to put together a bill based on the existing benefit for Desert Storm veterans.
The change became law earlier this year, and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management officially changed the rules Tuesday. The new preference is in addition to existing hiring advantages for Purple Heart winners and disabled veterans.