CODE OF VIRGINIA

GRADE OR RATING INCREASE AND OTHER PREFERENCES FOR VETERANS AND THEIR SURVIVING
SPOUSES AND CHILDREN, AND MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL GUARD (§ 2.2-2903)

A. In a manner consistent with federal and state law, if any veteran, or
surviving spouse, or child, or member of the National Guard applies for
employment with the Commonwealth that is based on the passing of any written
examination, the grade or rating of the veteran, surviving spouse, or child on
such examination shall be increased by five percent. However, if the veteran has
a service-connected disability rating fixed by the U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs, his grade or rating shall be increased by 10 percent on such written
examination. Such increases shall apply only if the veteran passes such
examination.

B. In a manner consistent with federal and state law, if any veteran, surviving
spouse, or child, applies for employment with the Commonwealth that is not based
on the passing of any examination, the veteran, surviving spouse, or child,
shall be given preference by the Commonwealth during the selection process,
provided that the veteran, surviving spouse, or child, meets all of the
knowledge, skill, and ability requirements for the available position.
Additional consideration shall also be given to veterans who have a
service-connected disability rating fixed by the U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs. The Department of Human Resource Management shall develop and
distribute guidelines as an addendum to the Hiring Policy for Executive Branch
agencies to provide guidance to agencies to comply with the preference of this
section.

C. A member of the National Guard applying for a position or job classification
under this chapter and possessing the necessary qualifications for such position
or job classification shall be entitled to a separate preference as provided in
this subsection. When a member of the National Guard or a veteran has applied
for a position or job classification that requires an assessment using numerical
ratings, points equal to five percent of the total points available from the
assessment device or devices shall be added to the passing score of the
applicant member of the National Guard or veteran. In an assessment not using
numerical ratings, consideration shall be afforded to a member of the National
Guard provided that member meets all of the knowledge, skill, and ability
requirements for the available position.The preference under this subsection
shall not be applied for a position that is limited to state employees. In
addition, the preference provided by this subsection shall not be applied if any
other applicant for the position or job classification is (i) a veteran or (ii)
a former prisoner of war.

D. If any veteran, or surviving spouse, or child, or member of the National
Guard is denied employment with the Commonwealth, he shall be entitled, to the
extent permitted by law, to request and inspect information regarding the
reasons for such denial.

E. As used in this section, unless the context requires a different
meaning:”Child” means any surviving child or children under the age
of 27 years of a veteran as defined herein who was killed in the line of
duty.”Member of the National Guard” means a person who (i) is
presently serving as a member of the Virginia National Guard and (ii) has
satisfactorily completed required initial active-duty service.”Surviving
spouse” means the surviving spouse of a veteran as defined herein who was
killed in the line of duty.”Veteran” means any person who has
received an honorable discharge and (i) has provided more than 180 consecutive
days of full-time, active-duty service in the armed forces of the United States
or reserve components thereof, including the National Guard, or (ii) has a
service-connected disability rating fixed by the United States Department of
Veterans Affairs.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 2-80; 1952, c. 119; 1966, c. 677, § 2.1-112; 1985, c.
115; 1997, c. 309; 2001, c. 844; 2005, c. 413; 2007, cc. 336, 605; 2012, cc.
266, 269, 287.