OPM has issued interim regulations, in the June 9 Federal Register, carrying out several changes in veterans preference in hiring policy ordered by a DoD funding bill for the current fiscal year. One change expands the definition of a veteran to include individuals who served on active duty for more than 180 consecutive days, other than for training, any part of which occurred during the period beginning September 11, 2001, and ending on the date prescribed by presidential proclamation or by law as the last day of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Another change clarifies that individuals who are released or discharged from active duty in the armed forces, as opposed to being separated from the armed forces, may receive veterans’ preference provided these individuals meet other applicable veterans’ preference eligibility requirements. This requires agencies to give the same effect to a “release or discharge from active duty” as they would to a “separation from the armed forces.”
