Veterans and Military Service Member’s Employment and Examination Rights
Candidates who meet the New York State Civil Service Commission’s definition of status as a veteran may receive five additional points added to their passing score on open-competitive examinations and two and one-half points on promotional examinations.
Disabled veterans may receive 10 additional points on open-competitive examinations and five points on promotional examinations. Active duty members of the armed forces may request veteran’s credits on civil service examinations prior to discharge. All candidates requesting veteran’s credit must submit a copy of their DD214 showing honorable discharge.
These veteran’s credits may be granted only at the time an eligible list is established and may only be used for one permanent appointment. Article 5, Section 6 of the New York State Constitution was amended to entitle veterans who have used non-disabled veteran credits for a Civil Service appointment or promotion and who were/are subsequently certified as being a disabled veteran by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, to additional credits for a subsequent appointment or promotion.
Section 243(10-a) of the New York State Military Law provides age deductions for military service for applicants who seek positions for which maximum age requirements have been established. Generally, an individual may have the period of military duty, as defined in Section 243(1-b), deducted from his/her chronological age to meet such age requirements. The maximum amount of time which can be deducted is seven years. Please refer to Policy Advisory Report (PAR) 11-19 for more information.
New York State Civil Service created a Veteran’s Manual that provides candidates an overview of veteran’s and military service member’s employment and examination rights, as provided under Civil Service and Military Law.
!-Requirements for Special Rights for Veterans
| Additional Examination Credit | Preference in Retention and Transfer | Removal and Discipline | Age Requirements and Deduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSL §85 | CSL §85, 86 | CSL §75 | CSL §54, 58 ML §243.10(a), 243.1(b) |
| Required | Not Required | Not Required | Not Required |
| Required | Required | Required | Required |
| Required | Required | Required | Not Required |
| No | No | No | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| No | No | No | (1) |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| No | No | No | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| No | No | No | (2) |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
1) If voluntary entry during period, duty served during period If involuntary service during period.
2) If voluntary entry after July 1, 1970, see Military Law §243.1(b)
(*) For hostilities in Lebanon, Grenada and Panama, the individual must have received the armed forces, navy or marine corps expeditionary medal. Without appropriate medal, service is treated as under May 8,1975 to Aug. 1,1990.
Special Notice to Veterans Who Were Certified as Disabled After Having Already Received Credits at Either an Original or Promotional Appointment
A Constitutional Amendment which allows certain disabled veterans to use additional credits on civil service examinations to obtain a second appointment or promotion took effect on January 1, 2014.
Article 5, section 6 of the New York State Constitution was amended to entitle veterans who have used non-disabled veteran credits for a Civil Service appointment or promotion and who were/are subsequently certified as being a disabled veteran by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, to additional credits for a subsequent appointment or promotion.
The amendment creates an exception to the one-time-only use of veteran credits. It permits veterans who are certified as disabled after having already received credits at either an original appointment or a promotion because of their status as non-disabled veterans to receive additional credits after the certification of their disability. After being certified disabled, such a veteran would be entitled to an additional grant of credits equal to the difference between 10 credits and the number of credits received at the initial appointment or promotion. This would bring the total additional points of Civil Service credits such a veteran can receive to 10 for either an appointment or a promotion.
This Constitutional amendment, which is effective January 1, 2014, provides additional veteran credits to veterans, who:
- Used non-disabled veterans credits to obtain a civil service appointment or promotion with New York State or a local government AND
- Subsequent to such appointment are determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to be a qualified disabled veteran, as defined in the New York State Civil Service Law.
Such candidate shall be entitled to 10 additional credits on civil service examinations, minus the number of credits already used for the prior appointment.
Eligible lists established after January 1, 2014 will include the additional disabled veteran credits in scores of candidates who meet the above two conditions and provide the necessary documentation to establish eligibility to the Department of Civil Service.
How subsequent credits will be computed
If a veteran previously received five (non-disabled) points on an open-competitive examination and subsequently became certified as disabled, he or she would be entitled to receive another five (disabled) points on a subsequent examination whether an open-competitive or a promotion examination.
If a veteran previously received two and one-half (non-disabled) points on a promotion examination and subsequently became certified as disabled, he or she would be entitled to receive another seven and one-half (disabled) points on a subsequent examination whether an open-competitive or a promotion examination.
There is no change for a veteran who has already received non-disabled veteran credits and remains non-disabled.
A disabled veteran who received disabled veteran credits without previously having received non-disabled veteran credits is not entitled to any additional credits.
NOTE: Disabled veteran credits can only be used for a single, permanent appointment. However, they are not lost if they are not used, and can be claimed on applications submitted for future civil service examinations.
If you feel you are eligible for additional veteran credits as a result of the change in the NYS Constitution, you will need to complete two forms.
The Authorization for Disability Record Form 102 will need to be filled out by you and sent to the Veterans Administration Office for completion and returned to the Westchester County Department of Human Resources.
The Authorization for Verification of Non-Disabled Veterans Credit Use Form 102S will need to be filled out by you and sent to the Civil Service Agency where your qualifying appointment was made at the time you used your non-disabled veteran credits for completion and then returned to the Westchester County Department of Human Resources.
Completed forms must be received by the Westchester County Department of Human Resources before an eligible list is established in order to be granted credits on that eligible list.
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