Getting Hired for State and Local Government Jobs
With the help of your DD214.
It's easy to overlook job opportunities that offer veteran's preference hiring practices; most people think "Civil Service" or government contracting jobs and don't realize there are plenty of other opportunities where a DD214 can give an applicant a competitive edge. State and local government jobs also await veterans with DD Form 214s-jobs that give preference to those who served honorably and have the paperwork to prove it.
Consider Oregon's participation in the Department of Veterans Affairs Hire Vets First program. According to Oregon.gov, "Oregon state government provides qualifying veterans and disabled veterans with preference in employment." In Oregon, qualifying veterans are eligible for a five point hiring preference for job openings with the state, and disabled vets can qualify for ten points.
Under this program, the requirements to claim your state government hiring preference as a veteran include furnishing copies of DD Form 214 or DD215, and award letters from the Department of VA for service-connected disabilities.
The application process for state and local government jobs differs from using your veteran's preference for federal jobs-state and local positions require their own unique applications and DD214 submissions. Compare that to the practice of submitting an SF-15 Veteran's Preference Form for most federal jobs-a centralized approach to recognizing an applicant's status as a retired, separated, and/or disabled vet. Unfortunately there is no such centralized submission process for jobs below the federal level, but most positions require the DD214 and supporting documents from the VA when the applicant wants to apply for disabled veteran preference.
What happens if you apply for a job and you discover your DD214 is missing?
Unfortunately, in the case of the Oregon program the rules are clear-veterans must provide documentation at the time they apply for the state job and veteran's hiring preference. If you don't have your DD214, you won't be able to claim your points when you submit your application to the state of Oregon. Every state is different, but chances are the rules are similar in all 50 states; applicants should expect to furnish proof of service and/or disability at application time.
The best advice? As soon as you know your DD214 is missing, file a request for a replacement copy by going to the National Personnel Records Center official site and follow the instructions for filing an electronic application or submission via postal mail, whichever you prefer.
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