Question: How long do you need to serve in the military before getting preference for federal jobs?

Answer: Veterans, who left the military under honorable or general discharge, have gotten some degree of preferential treatment since the Civil War.

The Veterans’ Preference Act of 1944 that has been amended in Title 5/ United States Code states that veterans who are disabled or served on active duty during certain specified time periods or in military campaigns are entitled to preference over others when hiring from competitive lists of eligible candidates, according to the 2010 edition of “Federal Benefits for Veterans.”

The vets also are given preferential treatment during a reduction in the workforce. Recent changes in Title 5 now offer the same treatment to National Guard and Reserve members if they served for more than 180 consecutive days, any part of which occurred during the period beginning on Sept. 11, 2001, and ending on the date prescribed by presidential proclamation or by law as the last date of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).

Preference is also provided for certain widows and widowers of deceased veterans and mothers of veterans who died under honorable conditions, on active duty or have permanent and total service-connected disabilities.

There are specific criteria that must be met for each preference. To find out more, contact a representative at the nearest VA facility.

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Russell Davis has spent the last few years aggressively seeking answers to his own veterans’ benefit questions. He’ll be taking over the Taking on Life blog every Friday to tell you what he’s learned and to help honorable military discharged women and men, their spouses, partners and others to find answers.

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