6
New Veterans Preference Policies
Adopted by Two Municipalities
The St., Louis Civil Service Commis
sion recently adopted a new veterans’
preference policy which grants pref
erence to honorably discharged persons
who have served in the Army, Navy,
Marine Corps, or Coast Guard during
World War II, provided that they meet
the minimum requirements imposed in
the examination and receive at least a
satisfactory grade. Such persons have
five points added to their total earned
rating in the examination. Disabled vet
erans receive an additional five points,
providing that they have a compensable
service-connected disability of at least
10 per cent. Physical requirements es
tablished for examinations are waived
for veterans in instances where it is
evident that a disability possessed by
the veteran will not interfere with the
performance of the duties of the posi
tion.
An unusual feature of the St. Louis
rule is a provision whereby a time limit
is placed on the granting of veterans’
preference. The provisions become in
operative five years after cessation of
World War II, or five years after the
date of the veteran’s release from war
service, whichever date is later. The
rules also provide that relevant experi
ence gained in military service is to be
evaluated and considered in determining
qualifications of candidates for posi
tions.
Preference policies adopted by the
Detroit Civil Service Commission,
which have been endorsed by repre
sentatives of Veterans’ organizations in
the city, represent an effort to award
varying amounts of preference to vet
erans on the basis of their individual
military records, rather than following
the customary lump-credit policy. U n
der the Detroit regulations, veterans
who achieve a passing grade in an ex
amination can receive up to a maximum
of ten points additional credit, depend
ing on three factors: (a) the over-all
length of service; (b) the extent of
overseas combat service; and (c) dec
orations awarded for combat action.
Disabled veterans receive further credit
up to a maximum of five additional
points, depending upon the extent of
their disability.
A sliding scale of military preference
credit points has been developed for
the purpose of augmenting scores of
veterans who pass examinations. The
schedule is as follows:
a. Length of service in the armed
forces between the dates of declaration
of war and the cessation of hostilities:
6 months or less-^ r _,,l point
7 to 12 months*B-4-^ points
13 to 24 months___ 3 points
23 to 41 months___ 4 points
42 months or more 5 points
b. Portion of above creditable time
served outside the continental limits of
the United States in combat areas:
3 to 5 months_____1 point
6 to I T months___ 2 points
12 td 17 months____3 points
18 to 23 months___ 4 points
24 months or more__5 points
c. Per cent of disability, as rated by
the United States Veterans’ Adminis
tration, on date of examination:
10 per cent.—___ ____ 1 point
20 per cent—.:——,_—2 points
30 per cent___ — — 3 points
40 per cent___—— 4 points
50 per cent—_—— —5 points
d. Points to be added, not to exceed
a total of fifteen for disabled veterans
and ten for other veterans, for combat
awards including:
Medal of Honor__— 5 points
Distinguished Service Cross,
(Continued on Page 7)