Minnesota Veterans Preference in Local Government Hiring

Section 197.455 governs the preference of a veteran under the civil service laws, charter provisions, ordinances, rules and regulations of a county, home rule charter or statutory city, town, school district, or other municipality or political subdivision of Minnesota. Any contrary provision in a law, charter, ordinance, rule or regulation is void to the extent of the inconsistency. Read that sentence before reading the points. This section is about local government. State of Minnesota executive branch hiring runs on section 43A.11, which works differently and is described in its own entry. Sources that publish the 10 and 15 point table as "the Minnesota state employee veterans hiring preference", including the Department of Defense benefits library, are attaching the local government rule to the wrong employer. The credits are: ten points added to the competitive open examination rating of a nondisabled veteran who so elects; fifteen points added to the competitive open examination rating of a disabled veteran who so elects; and five points added to the competitive promotional examination rating of a disabled veteran who so elects, where the veteran is applying for a first promotion after securing public employment. In every case the veteran must have obtained a passing rating on the examination without the credit points. Preference cannot rescue a failing score. The two definitions of "disabled veteran" in this section are different, and this is the most commonly misreported point in Minnesota veterans law. For the preference used in securing appointment from a competitive open examination, a disabled veteran is a person with a compensable service-connected disability as adjudicated by VA or by a service retirement board, existing at the time preference is claimed. Any compensable rating, meaning 10 percent or more, is enough for the fifteen points. For the promotional preference, a disabled veteran is a person who at the time of election is entitled to disability compensation for a permanent service-connected disability rated at 50 percent or more. The 50 percent test belongs to the five-point promotional credit, not to the fifteen-point hiring credit. The preference is elective and must be claimed. A governmental agency notifying eligibles that they passed must show the final examination ratings and preference credits and must notify eligibles that they may elect to use veteran's preference. An eligible whose rating is augmented by preference is entered on the eligible list ahead of a nonveteran with the same rating, so the preference also breaks ties. If the appointing authority rejects a certified eligible who received veteran's preference, it must notify the eligible in writing of the reasons for the rejection and file the notice with the appropriate local personnel officer. That written record is the raw material for a section 197.481 petition. Spouses may use it. The preference may be used by the surviving spouse of a deceased veteran, and by the spouse of a disabled veteran who because of the disability is unable to qualify. Teachers are handled separately and oddly. A public school that chooses at any time to use a 100-point hiring method to evaluate applicants for teaching positions is subject to the points. A public school that opts not to use a 100-point method is exempt from the points but must instead grant an interview to any veteran who applies for a teaching position and holds proper licensure for it. A school cannot escape both. Section 375.63 confirms that nothing in the county personnel statutes removes, limits or extends these rights, except that a county board may set a retirement age applying to veterans on the same basis as everyone else.