Hiring veterans

In accordance with the Code of Virginia (§ 2.2-2903), otherwise qualified veterans, spouses of disabled veterans, and surviving spouses and children of veterans killed in the line of duty should be given preference when applying for positions at VCU provided that the veteran, surviving spouse, or child, meets all of the minimum qualifications for the available position. Additional consideration shall also be given to veterans who have a service-connected disability rating fixed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Preference Afforded to Veterans and their Surviving Spouses and Children in the Recruitment Process

Preferential Hiring will be afforded to eligible veterans, surviving spouses, and children for both faculty and staff positions. Preference will apply for initial employment, subsequent employment, promotions and competitive transfers. Hiring managers and/or search committees must ensure that preference is given. After the initial application screening, hiring managers will treat veteran status as a preferred qualification and veteran status with service-connected disability as an additional preferred qualification. For example, if a veteran meets the minimum qualifications for a position, the search committee should consider their veteran status as a preferred qualification.

An applicant with veterans’ preference must be offered the job when their qualifications (job-related experience and skills) are “substantially equal” to the best qualified applicant not eligible for veterans’ preference.

Eligible Veteran is defined as a person who served in any branch of the United States Armed Forces, Virginia National Guard or Reserves. Preference will also be given to the surviving spouse and/or children of veterans killed in the line of duty.

Child means any surviving child or children under the age of 27 years of a veteran as defined herein who was killed in the line of duty.

Surviving Spouse means the surviving spouse of a veteran as defined herein who was killed in the line of duty.

VCU is a V3 employer

VCU is a certified V3 (Virginia Values Veterans) employer. The V3 program is a free training and certification program for employers to help them implement nationally recognized best practices in recruiting, hiring, and retaining highly-skilled and dependable veterans.

The V3 Program is an official Commonwealth of Virginia Program, authorized under the Code of Virginia (§ 2.2-2001.2). It is organized under the directorate of Veterans Education, Training, and Employment (VETE), within the Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS), an agency of the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs. Find out more about V3 here.