Jacquelyn Cosentino M.P.H.,J.D. Veterans Preference
Employment/Promotion/Retention Division of Veterans Benefits and
Assistance P.O. Box 31003 St. Petersburg, Florida 33713
Phone:727-319-7462 Fax:727-319-7780
[email protected]
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INTRODUCTION TO VETERANS PREFERENCE:
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Veterans Preference F.S. 295.07 and Administrative Rule 55A-7
Laws Relating To Veterans and Veterans Preference
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It was the intent of the Legislature to provide preference and
priority for veterans in the hiring practices of the state and its
political subdivisions.
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PERPETUAL ENTITLEMENT For New Employment Retention Promotion
& Reemployment
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No expiration date. Prior to July 1, 2007, Veterans Preference
was a single entitlement event, meaning a veterans employment
preference expired after a person eligible for appointment in
employment preference applied and had been employed by the state or
any agency of a political subdivision of the state. However it was
repealed on July 1, 2007 and from that time forward Veterans
Preference in employment does not expire. Persons who were
determined ineligible for preference because they were previously
or are currently employed with the state or political subdivision
of this state may now be eligible to claim preference for covered
positions.
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Originally there were types of eligibility: SERVICE CONNECTED
DISABILITY (COMPENSABLE) SPOUSE OF VET UNABLE TO WORK P & T
Service Connected Disability WARTIME VETERAN UNREMARRIED SPOUSE OF
VET WHO DIED OF SERVICE CONNECTED DISABILITY AWARD OF CAMPAIGN OR
EXPEDITION MEDAL On July 1 2014, Florida Statute 295 was changed
and several new groups of individuals were added to those who would
be eligible for veterans preference.
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Now there are types of eligibility Category #1: Service
Connected Disability receiving Compensation, Disability Retirement,
or Pension administered by VA or DOD. Category#2:Spouse of Vet
unable to work / P & T Service Connected Disability or who is
MIA or captured by hostile force. Category#3:Wartime Veteran who
has served at least one day. or A Vet who has served in a
qualifying Campaign or Expedition for which a Medal was authorized.
Active Duty for Training does not count. Category#4:Unremarried
Widow or Widower of Vet who died of Service Connected Disability.
Category#5: The mother, father, legal guardian or unremarried
spouse who died as a result of military service under combat
related conditions. Category#6:A Veteran as defined in Section
1.01(14), Florida Statute. Active Duty for Training does not count
Category#7: A current member of any reserve component of the US
Armed Forces or the Florida National Guard
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Who and How : PREFERENCE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Veteran must
have a DD214* Veteran must have an Honorable Discharge Veteran no
longer must be a Florida Resident. This requirement was removed in
July 2014 as well. Veterans must have any other applicable
documents: proof of disability award, marriage certificate and
proof of medals or campaigns
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DD214s Older vs Newer The newer DD214s have Member 1,2,3 and 4.
It is important that they supply you the copies that indicate the
Character of Service Historically DD214s have been single page
documents containing all of the pertinent information on one page.
The main thing is that you are able to identify dates/character of
service and medals/campaigns.
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Types of Character of Discharge FOR VETERANS PREFERENCE IN
FLORIDA: NOTHING LESS THAN HONORABLE Honorable Discharge General
Discharge/Under Honorable Conditions Undesirable Discharge/Under
Other Than Honorable Conditions Bad Conduct Discharge/Special Court
Martial Dishonorable Discharge/Bad Conduct Discharge/General Court
Martial Uncharacterized
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Periods of Service less than 90 days For periods of less than
90 days DD214s are generally not issued. The Statute states a DD214
or military discharge papers or equivalent certification from the
DVA, listing the military status, dates of service and discharge
type. We are now accepting Military Orders in lieu of DD214s in
those cases plus letters with character of service
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Medals Many medals are awarded for non- combat operations.
These medals are not a basis for preference such as The National
Defense Service Medal between 8/2/90-11/30/95, The Armed Forces
Medal and The Global War on Terrorism Service Medal from 9/11/01
but the The Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal is
approved.
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War Time Eras: World War II 12/7/41-12/31/46 Korean
6/27/50-1/31/55 Vietnam Era 2/28/61-5/7/75 Persian Gulf
8/2/90-1/2/92 Operation Enduring Freedom 10/7/01- TBD Operation
Iraq Freedom- 3/19/03-TBD Operation New Dawn- 9/1/10-TBD
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Other Possible Documents .. Proof of Disability and the amount
of the award of the disability. P&T award letter Marriage
Certificate Death Certificate Drivers License Military Orders Other
acceptable documents from the Department of Defense or the DVA
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PROCESS for the Applicant : Responds to Open Vacant
Announcement Submits Application for employment Meets all Minimum
Requirements Must Submit all required documents Most times are
required to provide the DD214 or comparable approved document.
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The Job Posting
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Vacant Positions Must: Be open to all applicants (cant be
internal) Not be temporary Not be for training Not be an internship
Not be without benefits Not be Heads of Departments/positions which
require licensure for a Doctor and a Lawyer
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Minimum Requirements How Low Can You Go ?????
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EMPLOYER Reviews all applications received Selects interested
applicants Identifies veterans who have met minimum qualifications
Conducts interviews with identified and chosen applicants Selects
the best qualified individual ( in the event two individuals are
equally qualified and one is a veteran; the vet will be awarded the
position.
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Once Recruitment Begins In White vs. Department of Health and
Rehabilitative Services (1989) PERC held that once an agency begins
recruitment by announcing a position of vacancy in soliciting
applicants from outside of the career service system the position
is (vacant) for the purpose of Chapter 295 and Veterans Preference
considerations are applicable.
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As long as they continue to qualify they are guaranteed
Preference at every step. So what does that mean and how do you do
that?
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Ways of Selecting an Employee Subjective requires that the
employer evaluate the candidates and select THE ONE that he or she
believes is the best qualified for the position. This method
requires a lot of documentation.Why? OR.
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What if it is Vet vs Vet ??? In all covered positions where an
examination is not used to determine the qualifications for
employment, preference in appointment, employment and retention
shall be given first to veterans with compensable service connected
disabilities (Category #1) and second to those persons included in
all other Categories. BUT
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Numeric Scoring System A weighted scoring system can neutralize
biases in interviews. The weighing is based on a number of factors
including the job analysis and job description By weighing the
important criteria and the ratings by the interviewer, a standard
numeric score can be created to compare candidates. This
interpersonal scoring system takes into account a number of biases
that may happen during an interview and minimizes the impact of gut
feelings because the results are boiled down to a single score
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Criteria In a numeric scoring system once a veteran has
satisfied the minimum requirements meaning usually that they have
achieved the minimum scores; his or her scores may be augmented by
5 pts or 5%,10 pts or 10%,15 pts or 15% depending upon their level
of eligibility.
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Augmented Allowable Points * Service Connected Disability OR
(Compensable) Pts * Spouse of a vet unable to work/ P & T
Service Connected Disability * Wartime Veteran/Vet who received Pts
an award of a Campaign or Expeditionary medal OR * Unremarried
spouse of veteran who Died of a service connected Disability, MIA
or captured. * Mother, Father Legal Guardian or Spouse who died
combat related conditions. * A Veteran as defined in FS 1.01 (14).
Pts * A current member of any Reserve component of the US Armed
Forces or the Florida National Guard. OR
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30 % or greater Disability Veteran with a 30% or greater
disability in a numeric system will go to the top of the roster.
Veteran MUST be equally or better than qualified. There may be more
than one person at the top of that roster. Unless they are in a
Federal Government designated job for Professionals or
Technicians
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Interviewing Pre-screening Questionnaire prior to interview
(usually done at the application stage) Telephone Screening
Interviews as a prescreening (Usually done if large pool of
applicants) Oral Interviews (Standard practice when using a
subjective means) Second Interviews (Usually done when the decision
is very close between applicants.
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How should you Document ? Create a form/matrix if possible to
use for all applicants Have each member of the interview panel
record their perceptions and answers to the interview questions Use
terms that are consistent with the KSAs and the job posting. Choose
your comments wisely
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Teachers Teachers are entitled to Veterans Preference. Teachers
typically work on a year to year contract with no guarantees for
renewal, therefore when an eligible applicant is informed that they
are not being renewed for the following year the applicant lacks
the ability to file a VP complaint. The only recourse is to begin
filing applications for other teaching positions. If they suspect
that they are not being selected
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Military Experience When evaluating work experience, it is
important to be able to translate a veterans military experience
into actual civilian experience. This is done, so as, to properly
give the applicant the correct amount of overall work experience.
This is especially true if trying to insure that the minimums are
being satisfied.
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Translation: My Next Move for Veterans is a simple and quick
search engine that can provide HR staff the translation for those
who have prior military experience. Once there you enter the branch
of service and military occupation code or title. You will then be
provided information as to how the military job compares to
civilian employment and then be able to establish if the veteran
can meet job requirements.
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When you say No If at any step in the selection process, a
determination is made that the veteran is not qualified to advance
to a subsequent step in the selection process, a determination will
receive a review at a higher level of management having authority
to overturn the initial determination, to ensure whether the
determination was correct.
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If No Interview is Given.. The DVA will require that the agency
or political subdivision demonstrate how their policies were
effectuated and specifically as to why an interview was not
provided.
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Making that decision Ultimately the employer must be prepared
to demonstrate how special consideration was afforded at each step
in the application/employment process.
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Notice Requirements Employer must provide notice to non-
selected applicant that they have the right to file a complaint
with the DVA and how and where they do that. This information is
typically provided on the application itself. The applicant has 21
days to file a complaint after receiving a letter of non-select.
All this information must be provided to the veteran.
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The Veterans Preference Statute will TRUMP Local Ordinances and
Union Agreements or any Regulations that are in Conflict or are
inferior to the State Statute
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Veteran waits to hear about job. Receives a letter of
non-select, doesnt hear from them at all, calls and finds out job
is filled..! JOB must be filled to File a complaint.
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Does a veteran always have to file a complaint?
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When Veterans Preference Will Not work: When the person hired
was more qualified When the person hired was a veteran or one of
the other preference eligible candidates. Depending upon their
Category.
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Early Intervention: Many times a veteran will call the DVA
concerned that the political entity to which he or she has applied
has not properly applied veterans preference. The DVA will then
call and alert the HR department that the veteran has submitted an
eligible application. This has diverted many problems.
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Promotions Section 295.09 addresses the Promotion Preference
for eligible veterans: Such person shall be awarded preference and
shall be promoted ahead of all others who are as well qualified or
less qualified for the position. Only when a non-veteran is more
qualified can he be promoted before a veteran.
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Promotion When an employee in a covered position leaves
employment of the state or a political subdivision to serve in the
Armed Forces and separates with an Honorable discharge the veteran
shall be Reinstated or reemployed under the following conditions:
1: to the same or equivalent position and 2: within one year of
discharge
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Promotions This is not meant to substitute or replace a missed
opportunity if the veteran did not have or did not use Veterans
Preference at the time of hiring. The veterans may take the test as
many times as necessary until he or she is able to be promoted.
Veteran may not bank this opportunity
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First Promotion Only Veteran shall be awarded preference in
promotion and shall be promoted ahead of all other employees who
are as well or less qualified for the position. Eligibility for
preference in promotion shall apply only to a veterans first
promotion after reinstatement or reemployment, without
exception
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Multiple Deployments A VP eligible applicant will be entitled
to multiple promotions if they have had multiple deployments under
Title 10 and returned Honorably. In these situations each
deployment warrants a promotional opportunity.
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Rule of 5 In the Rule of 5 it is presumed that all promotional
candidates are equal because their scores go away and. Therefore
the preference eligible veteran MUST be the one selected before all
others.
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Retention and Notice: Chapter 110.227, Florida Statutes,
provides in pertinent part that any permanent career service
employee subject to reduction in pay, transfer, layoff, or demotion
from a class in which he or she has permanent status in the Career
Service System shall be notified in writing by the employer before
taking such action. Such actions shall be appealable to the Public
Employees Relations Commission, pursuant to s. 447.208 and rules
adopted by the Commission. The employer shall adopt rules for
administration of the grievance procedures, eligibility, filing
deadlines, forms, and review and evaluation governing the grievance
process.
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Preference in Retention In all covered positions where layoffs
are necessitated, special consideration in the retention of
employees shall be given first to those persons in our identified
groups.
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Notice Requirements Notice Requirements are especially
important when it comes to Lay Offs. Once an employee has been
notified that he or she will be subject to a lay off they must be
told of their rights to file a complaint with the DVA. They must be
provided with all of the necessary information in order seek out
assistance from the DVA. The DVA has assisted many times in
determining seniority status of employees based on time served in
the military. Many times once notified by the veteran The DVA is
able to recalculate the veterans status with their employer.
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Augmented Allowable Points * Service Connected Disability OR
(Compensable) Pts * Spouse of a vet unable to work/ P & T
Service Connected Disability * Wartime Veteran/Vet who received Pts
an award of a Campaign or Expeditionary medal OR * Unremarried
spouse of veteran who Died of a service connected Disability, MIA
or captured. * Mother, Father Legal Guardian or Spouse who died
combat related conditions. * A Veteran as defined in FS 1.01 (14).
Pts * A current member of any Reserve component of the US Armed
Forces or the Florida National Guard. OR
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Making that decision The employer must demonstrate how special
consideration was afforded at each step in the retention
process.
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Resolution Alternatives No, there are always alternatives: 1:
DVA will contact HR director to discuss situation and possible
solution 2: Discuss with the Veteran the situation to make a
determination as to whether the veteran complied with all of the
requirements 3. Be willing to reach out to other departments for
solutions
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When the Veteran decides to file a complaint?
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Veteran prepares the following packet: A formal letter of
complaint A copy of the DD214 or applicable documents Copies of any
supporting eligibility documents i.e.. Award letter for disability,
marriage certificate A copy of the Job posting A copy of the
Application submitted A copy of the Letter of non-select (if not
available please provide this information in your complaint letter)
Copies of Additional correspondence including any email
threads
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Information is mailed to the following: Florida Department of
Veterans Affairs Division of Benefits and Assistance Attn: Veterans
Preference PO. Box 31003 St. Petersburg, Florida 33731 Or Faxed to
727- 319 7780 Inquiries may be made by calling : Jacquelyn
Cosentino 727-319-7462 or emailing me at
[email protected]
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Complaint is Received Upon receiving the formal complaint the
DVA will review the complaint and if necessary begin the
investigation to determine if there has been a violation of
Veterans Preference.
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Steps: Complaint is filed with Hiring Agency Agency has 30 days
to respond FDVA reviews Agencys response Investigative Finding
Issued By FDVA Agencys Responds to Finding .. How? Possible
Complainants Appeal statement PERC Hearing (Refer to next slide)
Recommended Order Final Order Worse Case Scenario
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Options still remain: Until an Official and Final finding has
been made by the DVA the parties may settle. Additionally the
veteran may decide to drop his or her complaint with or without
prejudice.
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SCOPE OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW AUTHORITY FLORIDA
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RELATIONS
COMMISSION DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
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Penalties So, what can happen if you lose at PERC. 1) Pay their
attorneys fees up to $10,0000 Hire them Pay back wages Pay back
benefits Have been know to assess punitive If a second offense the
offending party can be forced to be terminated. Determine a
monetary settlement They can get as creative as they want That why
I try and do the same when mediating.
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What Else Does the DVA Do ???
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The Different Ways DVA Can Help: Assist in interpreting DD214s
Assist in interpreting Orders so as to distinguish between Active
Duty and Training Assist in determining Eligibility Assist in
mediating Veterans Preference conflicts
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Training to HR Managers We work with HR managers and help them
to learn how to apply the Veterans Preference Laws so that our Vets
are getting the preferences that they are entitled to. Available
for continuing educational training to ensure that the laws are
adhered to.
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Scenario Department of Children and Family Job Posting:
Government Operations Consultant in the Tallahassee Office
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Minimum Qualifications A bachelors or masters degree in social
work from a college or university social work program accredited by
the Council on Social Work Education? Or a bachelors or masters
degree in psychology, sociology, counseling, special education,
education, human development, child development, family
development, marriage and family therapy, or nursing? Relevant work
and volunteer experience in a public service field related to
childrens services, demonstrating critical thinking skills, formal
assessment processes, communication skills, problem solving, and
empathy; a commitment to helping children and families; Able to
work with children, from infants to teenagers, who have been badly
mistreated, who are bruised, have broken bones, or severe burns?
Able to go into unfamiliar and unsafe neighborhoods, at times alone
and/or at night, to assess the immediate safety needs of a
vulnerable child? Available to work additional hours, little or no
prior notice, to provide needed services? Available to work
additional hours or be "on call" including weekends to respond to
calls for service at "any hour," "night or day"? Have, and/or are
you willing to secure, a valid Florida driver's license? Own, or
have access to, a licensed, operational, insured automobile that
would be available for doing fieldwork daily and during on call
periods? Willing and able to transport children in your personal
vehicle? Obtain and maintain Child Welfare Professional &
Florida Child Protective Investigator certification within 12
months of hire.
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1st Applicant BA in Elementary Education Relocating from New
York Volunteered while in the military at a homeless shelter Was a
Corpsman in the military Certified Paramedic 50% Disability with
the VA
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2 nd Applicant AS in Biology BA in Psychology MS in Child &
Adolescent Behavioral Health Behavioral Health Tech in the Army for
6 years 3 DUIs in the last 3 years/2 involving property damage
Volunteered at Abuse Shelter while in College Runs a group
counseling for teenage alcoholics War time era veteran and 60%
disability
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3 rd Applicant BA in Sociology 10% Disabled Veteran Currently
working at Walmart Youth Music Director at Hill Crest Baptist
Church Father is a Florida Child Protective Investigator in
Miami
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4th Applicant BA in Nursing Currently works on Pediatric Unit
at Tallahassee General Hospital Uncharacterized character of
service Worked with Leon County School System with Special Needs
children
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5 rd Applicant AA in Music BA in Counseling Drill Sergeant in
the Army Provided Member 1 of her DD214 Previous employment DCF in
North Carolina as a Child Protective Investigator for 4 years
Volunteered as an AA counselor while in college Working on her MA
in Marriage and Family. Is only 2 classes away from completion
Served from 1994-1999
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6 th Applicant BA in Social Work MA in Social Work Currently
works for DCF as an Investigator in their Medicaid Fraud Control
Unit in Miami Was a Criminal Investigations Special Agent in the
Army Served 1999-2005
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THROUGH THE STORM
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Scenario Department of Agriculture Job Posting: Administrative
Asst. in Tallahassee Office Minimum Qualifications BA, 3 years
experience working in an office familiar with Microsoft word, excel
and publisher, must be able to pass a background check.
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Scenario continued 2. Has a BA 3 years experience knows word,
excel, publisher, convicted of a felony
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Scenario continued Veteran applies for the job: 1.Has a BA and
2 years experience know word and excel will he get the job?
Why?
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Scenario continued 3. Has a BA 3 years of experience knows
word, excel, publisher, did not provided his DD214
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Scenario continued 4. Has a MA degree, 2 years of experience,
knows Word, Excel and Publisher, currently works for the Dept. of
Agriculture as a Acct Clerk in their Miami office.