Wisconsin State Employment for Veterans

Wisconsin's state employment preference for veterans is widely described as a points table: 10 points for a veteran, 15 for a disabled wartime veteran, 20 for a veteran rated 30 percent or more, 10 for the spouse of a veteran rated 70 percent or more. That table was section 230.16(7). It is not in the current statutes. It went in the 2015 rewrite of the state civil service, along with the examination-and-register machinery the points were added to. The Department of Defense's own benefits library, re-read 2026-10-24, still publishes the table, and so do most guides. A veteran relying on it is relying on a repealed subsection. Two provisions remain and they work quite differently. Section 230.275 is the substantial one. Whenever a vacancy occurs in the classified service, the appointing authority may appoint a disabled veteran on a non-competitive basis. Five conditions must be met: the veteran is on a U.S. armed forces permanent disability list with a rating of at least 30 percent, or has been rated by VA as having a compensable service-connected disability of at least 30 percent; the veteran presents written federal certification of the existence and extent of the disability, issued within the year preceding appointment; the appointing authority determines the veteran is qualified; the appointing authority notifies the director in writing; and the veteran does not already hold a permanent appointment or mandatory restoration rights. Where that route is used, competition is waived entirely. Section 230.15(2m) directs the director to waive all competition requirements for the position, and 230.275(2) removes the certification requirement. The veteran is hired without competing. There is a duty attached, and it runs to other disabled veterans rather than to other applicants. If an appointing authority elects to appoint a disabled veteran non-competitively, it must offer to interview any disabled veteran who expressed interest in the position and who appears to have suitable skills and experience, and any disabled veteran certified for the position. Subsection (3)(b) then says the authority is not required to interview anyone else, including people already certified for appointment. Subsection (4) is the sentence that sets the ceiling on all of it: nothing in the section requires an appointing authority to appoint a disabled veteran, or prohibits it from filling the position from the ordinary certified list. This is an option for the agency, not a right for the veteran, and there is no remedy if an agency never uses it. The second surviving provision is narrow and time-limited. Section 230.16(7m) requires the division to accept a late application from a veteran where the register was established not more than 60 days before the applicant's separation, the register has not expired, the application is filed not more than 45 days after separation, and the appointing authority has not yet extended interviews or filled the position. A veteran for this purpose is someone with 180 days of active duty not counting training, or discharged for a service-connected disability, or honorably discharged, or eligible for federal veterans benefits. The practical advice differs from every other state in this catalog. In Wisconsin the thing to do is not to claim points. It is to get the VA certification dated within the last twelve months, identify the hiring agency, and tell the appointing authority directly that the position can be filled under 230.275.