Wyoming Veterans Preference in Public Employment

Wyoming Statute 19-14-102 gives a veterans preference in public employment as a percentage advantage rather than as flat points. A veteran receives a 5 percent advantage. A veteran with a service-connected disability rated 10 percent or more receives a 10 percent advantage. The percentage structure is worth understanding because it behaves differently from the flat-point systems most states use. On a score of 90 a 10 percent preference adds nine points; on a score of 70 it adds seven. The preference rewards a strong application rather than compensating for a weak one, which is the opposite of how a flat ten points behaves at the bottom of a list. The 10 percent disability threshold is the lowest tier boundary available: a veteran with a single compensable rating reaches the higher preference. A veteran who has written off rating-gated benefits because their rating is modest should still claim the 10 percent tier here. The preference has to be claimed with documentation. A hiring authority does not apply it from a DD-214 it has not been given, and mentioning service at interview is too late. Wyoming also gives a state employee in a reserve component 15 days of paid military leave annually. Wyoming's public workforce is small, and the state, the university, the community colleges, and the counties and municipalities are the main public employers. A veteran should treat the preference as applying across public employment rather than only to state agency jobs, and ask each employer how they administer it. The Wyoming Veterans Commission and the state workforce services offices can advise on claiming it.