Colorado Veterans Employment Preference: Government Job Advantages

To claim veterans preference in federal hiring, you must have received an honorable discharge or general discharge under honorable conditions from the U.S. military. You must have served on active duty, not in the National Guard or Reserves unless activated under federal orders. Service during any era qualifies: wartime service, peacetime service, and service during designated periods all count.

Under 5 U.S.C. § 3309, there are two preference categories. Five-point preference applies to all veterans with honorable or general discharge who served during a war, campaign, or expedition, or received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, or served 20+ years on active duty. Ten-point preference applies to veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 10% or higher from the VA, regardless of when or how long they served.

Spouses of service-connected disabled veterans may claim widow/widower preference if the veteran was disabled at 100%, or if the disability was rated permanent and total. Mothers of deceased or disabled veterans may also claim preference under specific conditions (veteran must be deceased or have permanent total disability).

You cannot claim preference for excepted service jobs, senior executive service (SES) positions, or jobs not in the competitive civil service. Preference does not guarantee hiring, only placement at the top of hiring certificates when you meet the qualification requirements. You must still meet all posted qualifications, experience, and education requirements for the position.

Veterans preference is not a dollar amount but a hiring advantage. Five-point preference adds 5 points to your civil service exam score or qualifies you for noncompetitive appointment in some cases. Ten-point preference (for service-connected disabled veterans with 10%+ VA rating) adds 10 points to exam scores and typically guarantees placement on hiring certificates above nonpreference applicants with the same or higher scores.

The points are added to your numeric score on the civil service examination or rating. For example, if you score 80 on a written test with 5-point preference, your score becomes 85 and is ranked against all other applicants' adjusted scores. Ten-point preference similarly boosts your ranked position unless you have a disqualifying factor. Disabled veterans (10%+ rating) may also qualify for noncompetitive appointment, meaning agencies can hire you without a competitive exam process for certain positions.

Colorado does not provide state-specific hiring preference or employment benefits beyond the federal veterans hiring preference established by 5 U.S.C. § 3309. Veterans employment preference is exclusively a federal civil service benefit that applies to jobs in all federal agencies, including those located in Colorado. The federal preference system is uniform across all states and territories.

However, Colorado does offer veterans other employment-related support through state-funded programs. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment operates the Veterans Services Program, which provides career counseling, job training, resume assistance, and job placement services to Colorado veterans at no cost. This is separate from hiring preference but complements your federal preference by improving your overall competitiveness.

Many Colorado employers voluntarily participate in the Hire Colorado program or commit to hiring veterans as part of corporate responsibility initiatives, but these are private-sector preferences and carry no legal weight. If you are applying for state government jobs with Colorado state agencies, you should contact the Colorado Department of Personnel directly to determine if state civil service rules provide any additional consideration for veterans, though competitive state civil service typically mirrors federal preference rules. For federal positions, Colorado veterans use the standard USAJOBS.gov process with preference points calculated under federal rules.

Claims for veterans hiring preference are rarely denied outright, but applications are frequently removed from consideration or preference points not granted due to documentation or eligibility issues. The most common reason for denial or loss of preference is submission of an incomplete or invalid DD Form 214. Your document must clearly show an honorable or general discharge; dishonorable discharge, bad conduct discharge, or less-than-honorable conditions of discharge disqualifies you from preference.

Many veterans forget to upload their DD Form 214 at all, or upload a document that is illegible or incomplete. Missing your signature on the veterans preference form or failing to select your preference category on the application causes agencies to process you as a non-veteran. If you claim 10-point disabled preference but do not submit a VA disability rating letter or the letter does not clearly state your percentage rating (10% or higher), the agency will deny 10-point preference and may offer only 5-point preference if you otherwise qualify.

Another frequent issue is claiming preference for an excepted service job, senior executive service position, or job that is not listed as competitive civil service. Hiring preference only applies to competitive positions; the vacancy announcement must state this clearly. Veterans applying for jobs they do not meet the minimum qualifications for will be found ineligible before preference is even considered; preference cannot override qualification requirements.

Some veterans are denied preference because their service was in the National Guard or Reserves and was not federally activated. Only active-duty service (or activated Guard/Reserve duty under federal orders) qualifies. Finally, if your claim of disability preference is based on a VA rating that was assigned after you separated, and the rating determination letter does not show the effective date covers your application period, the agency may dispute your 10-point status. Always ensure your documents are current and match the eligibility requirements exactly.

Veterans preference denials in federal hiring are handled differently than VA disability compensation appeals. If your hiring preference claim is denied or not applied to your job application, your remedy is to file a complaint with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) under 5 U.S.C. § 3312. You must file within 30 days of learning of the agency's action or inaction.

To appeal, send a written complaint to OPM Office of Merit Systems Oversight and Effectiveness at merit.systems@opm.gov or mail it to Office of Personnel Management, 1900 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20415. Include your name, the job announcement number, the agency and position title, your DD Form 214, VA rating letter if applicable, and a clear explanation of why you believe your preference was wrongly denied. Keep copies of all documents you submitted with your application and your original application confirmation from USAJOBS.gov.

OPM will investigate whether the agency correctly applied veterans preference law. If OPM finds the agency violated your rights, they will order the agency to correct your standing on the hiring certificate or remove a nonveteran applicant who should not have been ranked above you. OPM investigations typically take 30-60 days but can extend longer if the agency requests additional time.

If you disagree with OPM's decision, you may pursue judicial review in federal court, though this is rare and requires an attorney. You cannot appeal a hiring preference decision through the VA's appeal system (Supplemental Claim, Higher Level Review, or Board of Veterans' Appeals) because preference is a civil service matter, not a VA benefit decision.

For help filing your OPM complaint, contact your Colorado county veterans service office (https://cdmva.colorado.gov) or the Department of Veterans Affairs' Veterans Service Officers. These services are free and can assist you at every stage of your complaint. The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB) and Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) offices cannot help with preference disputes, but OPM can.