How Veterans Preference Would Be Treated

Under the Voinovich proposal, veterans within each category would be placed at the top of the category list, with 10-point veterans placed above five-point veterans. And except for applicants for scientific and engineering positions at the GS-9 grade level or higher, disabled veterans who meet basic qualifications would be entered in the superior category. However, agencies also could hire directly, without regard to veterans preference eligibles or the rule of three, candidates for certain positions for which there is a shortage of candidates or a critical hiring need. But overall, sponsors assert that where category ranking systems have been tested, veterans fare better than under the “rule of three.”