Prince George's County Government Veteran Hiring Preference

Prince George's County Code sections 16-162 and 16-163 give veterans priority on a recruitment eligibility register for the county classified service. The Office of Human Resources Management ranks eligibles by score, divides the range into three bands, and then orders each band: disabled veterans first, other veterans second, displaced homemakers third, other county residents fourth, and everyone else last. A veteran qualifies by showing separation from any branch of the armed forces under honorable conditions after at least 180 days of active duty, and by having been a legal resident of Maryland for at least five full calendar years when applying for the examination. The five-year residence rule is the county's own; the state's selection credit has none. A disabled veteran also shows a permanent service-connected disability of 30% or more for which VA or a branch of service pays compensation. An unmarried surviving spouse of a veteran who was honorably discharged gets the same ordering, with the same five-year Maryland residence. If the veteran was disabled, the disability had to be permanent, 30% or more, and compensated at death. The preference orders names within a score band on an initial appointment. It does not add points, and it does not apply to promotion registers, which the code orders by rating alone.