Okaloosa County Jobs: Veterans Preference and Military Leave Pay

Okaloosa County's Human Resources Policy Manual, revised July 14, 2026, governs Board of County Commissioners employees. Preference. "Preference is given to certain veterans and spouses of veterans as provided by Chapter 295, Laws of Florida"; see the Florida entry for who qualifies. Mark the claim on the application and attach the documents; Human Resources flags those applicants to the hiring department "to ensure appropriate preference is given". The county's jobs page says "If you are interested in claiming Veterans' Preference, please click here", but the link opens the Veteran Services page, which says nothing about preference. Ask Human Resources (850-689-5870; [email protected]) which documents it wants. Military leave. For an employee in the Reserve or National Guard: - training: full county pay for up to 240 working hours a fiscal year; - active service: full county pay for scheduled workdays in the first 30 calendar days, and after that, if military pay is lower, a county supplement bringing total pay up to the county salary for one year from activation, with leave still accruing; - beyond the caps, annual leave, floating holiday, compensatory leave or unpaid leave, at the employee's choice; - health and dental cover continues, with the county paying the employee's premium for up to a year; an employee who drops cover gets it back on return with no waiting period; - seniority, status and pay rate are kept, and re-employment follows USERRA. Returning veterans. An employee who leaves to serve and is honorably discharged is reinstated to the same or an equivalent position within a year and has preference in the first promotion after return over every employee as well or less qualified, as section 295.09 requires.