Colorado Veterans Preference in Public Employment

Colorado's veterans preference is in the state constitution, at Article XII, section 15, rather than in a statute a legislature can amend. That makes it unusually durable. Five points are added to the comparative analysis score of a veteran who served during a declared or undeclared war or period of armed hostilities. Ten points are added for a veteran receiving disability compensation for a service-connected injury. Five points are added for a surviving spouse of a deceased or qualifying veteran. No candidate receives more than ten points in total, so the disabled veteran preference and another path do not stack. Colorado's constitution names disability compensation rather than a percentage, so any compensable service-connected rating reaches the ten-point preference. A veteran at 10 percent gets the same ten points as a veteran at 100 percent. This entry gates at 10 percent for that reason. The points attach to the comparative analysis score used in initial hiring, or to an interview eligibility list. Colorado's state careers office asks for a DD214 member 4 copy showing character of service, and for the disabled preference, additionally a VA letter showing a service-connected disability. The single most important limit is on promotions. Under Article XII, section 15(5), no person receives preference with respect to a promotional opportunity, and a promotional opportunity also open to outside applicants is still treated as promotional for this purpose. A veteran already working for the state gets nothing from the preference when moving up. It is a door-opening benefit, used once. The reach beyond state government is the part most veterans do not know. Colorado Revised Statute 29-5.5-104, part of the Political Subdivision Veteran's Preference Enforcement Act, requires that an applicant to any civil service, merit, or personnel system of a political subdivision comparable to the state's be awarded at minimum the same constitutional preference points. A county, city, or special district running a comparable system has to award them, and the statute gives it an enforcement framework rather than leaving it to local goodwill. A veteran applying to a county or municipal job in Colorado should claim the preference and cite the statute if the application form does not offer it. Private employers may adopt a veterans preference policy voluntarily under statute 8-1-153, provided it is written and applied uniformly. That is permission for the employer, not an entitlement for the applicant. Two employment protections sit alongside the preference. Officers and employees of the state and of any political subdivision, municipal corporation or other public agency who are Guard or reserve members get paid military leave under statutes 28-3-601 and 28-3-602 of up to the equivalent of four weeks of work on their regular schedule each leave year. That was three weeks, roughly 15 working days, until House Bill 26-1413 (2026 Session Laws, chapter 288, signed June 1, 2026) raised it from July 1, 2026; older guides still say 15 days. Unpaid leave is available beyond that, with reinstatement to the former position. Private employers must reinstate an employee after training of up to 15 days a calendar year under statute 28-3-609, in the same or a similar position without loss of status, pay, or seniority. Colorado's Department of Regulatory Agencies also waives professional license renewal fees for those on active duty 120 days or more during a war, emergency, or contingency, credits military education and training toward licensure, and issues a no-fee license valid six years to a military spouse holding an active out-of-state license, under statutes 12-20-302 and 12-20-202. A family on military orders has a federal right on top of that. Since December 23, 2024, 50 U.S.C. 4025a, as rewritten by section 587 of Public Law 118-159, requires Colorado to treat as valid, within its scope of practice, a professional licence in good standing that a service member or spouse holds in another state when they move to Colorado on military orders, on application with a copy of the orders, a marriage certificate for a spouse and a notarized affidavit; a board that cannot act within 30 days may issue a temporary licence in the meantime. Licences held under an interstate compact follow the compact instead. The federal rule covers people serving and their spouses, not veterans after separation.