Reservists Are Entitled to Veterans' Preferences

Veterans are entitled to certain advantages when they apply for jobs that require Civil Service exams. Pennsylvania's Veterans' Preference Act provides that veterans who take any tests for employment or for promotion in public service jobs are entitled to the addition of 10 extra points to their test scores. The Act also requires that if the pool of applicants or employees who pass the test and are eligible for hire or promotion includes a veteran, the veteran must be chosen or promoted over the other candidates.

A reservist who was called to active duty following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks recently was granted an award of a veterans' preference and was hired as a police officer, only to face a challenge from another applicant. The unsuccessful applicant maintained that the reservist did not qualify as a veteran because he had not actually completed his reserve service and was not yet honorably discharged. The reservist was discharged from active duty but remained obliged to complete several years of his reserve commitment. The Pennsylvania court ruled that reservists who complete a period of active duty and are discharged from that active duty qualify as "soldiers" under Pennsylvania's veterans' laws and are entitled to veterans' preferences even if they still have reserve duty to complete.

If you or any members of your family served on active duty due to a reserve call-up, be sure you know about the veterans' preference laws. The laws are designed to reward veterans "for the discipline and experience represented by military training and for the loyalty and public spirit demonstrated by service for the preservation of the country." In recent years, many reservists have ably fulfilled their military obligations, and Pennsylvania public service employers must give them their well-deserved veterans' preferences.

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