Alabama State Classified Service Veteran Preference

Code section 36-26-15 is a preference on examinations for entrance to the state classified service. It does not promise a job. Two versions of the section are in the Code, and which one applies depends on the date of the examination. Through December 31, 2026, the 1971 text governs. Five points go to a person honorably discharged from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard. Ten points go to an honorably discharged veteran who establishes by official records a present service-connected disability that entitles the veteran to pension, compensation, or a disability allowance, and to three groups the text calls widows and wives: the widow of such a veteran who died in line of duty, the widow of an honorably discharged veteran, and the wife of a disabled veteran who is not himself qualified because of the disability. There are no points for the spouse of a living veteran who can qualify, none for the spouse of anyone on active duty, and the five-point line names neither the Space Force nor the National Guard or reserves. From January 1, 2027, Act 2026-574 rewrites the section. It defines a veteran as anyone who has ever served in the National Guard or a reserve or active component and has been honorably discharged, and an active duty service member to include Guard and reserve members on active duty. A veteran and the spouse of a veteran get five points. The spouse of an active duty service member gets five points. A veteran with a compensable service-connected disability, and that veteran's spouse, get ten points. The surviving spouse of an active duty service member who died in the line of duty gets ten points. The widow-of-any-veteran line is gone. Under both versions a ten-point name is placed ahead of everyone else with the same rating, a five-point name ahead of nonveterans with the same rating, an appointing officer who passes over a veteran for a nonveteran with the same or lower rating has to file reasons, and in a reduction in force a person with the preference is the last to go if the record is good. A 0% service-connected rating does not pay compensation. The ten-point line follows entitlement to pension, compensation, or a disability allowance, not the five-point line. The five-point line has no rating floor. The Department of Veterans Affairs' September 2026 booklet prints the 2027 terms under a citation to "36-26-15(b) and Ala. Acts 2026-574 (effective January 1, 2027)" without saying that the spouse and active duty lines are not yet law. Until January 1, 2027, use the version above. Act 2026-574 also added two sections effective January 1, 2027. Section 11-80-21 lets a county, city or other political subdivision grant a hiring and promotion preference to a veteran, a veteran's spouse or surviving spouse, or the spouse of an active duty member, by ordinance if it chooses. Section 25-1-55 lets a private employer adopt a written voluntary preference for veterans, spouses of veterans, and spouses of active duty members, the last limited to the period of active duty and 180 days after, and requires the employer to notify the Department of Workforce, which keeps a public registry of employers with such a policy. Neither is required. County jobs are outside this state classified-service rule unless the county uses it.