U.S. Office of Personnel Management 

Important New Amendments to the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998

On November 30, 1999,  the President signed into law the Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act (Public Law 106-117).  Section 511 of this new law amends the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) in several important ways:

1.  The new law makes it clear that eligible veterans who wish to take advantage of the increased access to jobs provided by the VEOA must compete under an agency's Merit Promotion procedures.  Furthermore, the law provides that a veteran who is selected from the best qualified group will be given a career conditional appointment in the competitive service.

2.  The provisions of the new law are retroactive to the original date of enactment of the VEOA-- October 31, 1998.  This means that Schedule B appointments made under the VEOA must be converted to career conditional or career without further competition provided the veteran actually competed under a Merit Promotion announcement.  However, if the veteran was given a Schedule B appointment noncompetitively, he or she must still compete to obtain a competitive appointment, as the law prescribes.

3.  Finally, the new law authorizes OPM to regulate the circumstances under which veterans who have substantially completed an initial tour of military service, but who are released short of the 3 years minimum service required in the original VEOA, may be appointed under this authority.

We will be issuing interim regulations as soon as possible to implement the new law.  In the meantime, agencies should begin to identify those individuals serving under Schedule B who are to be converted to the competitive service.

We are attaching Questions and Answers concerning the administration of these provisions.  These Q's and A's are also posted on our Web site (www.opm.gov) under the VEOA.  Agencies should use ZBA-Pub. L. 106-117, Sec 511 as the legal authority for any new appointments under the VEOA.  This new authority code is effective December 1, 1999, and may be used with nature of action codes 100, 101, 500, and 501.


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Page updated 19 February 2001