Virginia Local Government Hiring Preference for Veterans

Code section 15.2-1509 applies to every locality in Virginia. In its hiring policies and practices a locality "shall take into consideration or give preference to" an honorably discharged veteran of the Armed Forces who meets all of the knowledge, skills, and eligibility requirements of the job. A veteran whose service-connected disability rating is fixed by VA gets additional consideration. The section borrows the state definition of veteran from section 2.2-2903: an honorable discharge plus either more than 180 consecutive days of full-time active duty, or a service-connected disability rating. A disabled veteran can meet the definition on the rating alone. The statute sets no point value and does not say whether consideration or preference is the method, so each locality decides. Where a county or city publishes how it applies the rule, such as a tie-break or a point score, that is written on its page here. A locality that publishes nothing still has to follow this section. It is a hiring consideration and does not promise a job. Commonwealth agency jobs use section 2.2-2903 instead.