State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Arkansas > Title-21 > Chapter-3 > Subchapter-3 > 21-3-30221-3-302. Veterans Preference Law.
(a) This section shall be entitled the "Veterans Preference Law".
(b) For purposes of this section, "veteran" means:
(1) A person honorably discharged from a tour of active duty, other than active duty for training only, with the armed forces of the United States; or
(2) Any person who has served honorably in the National Guard or reserve forces of the United States for a period of at least six (6) years, whether the person has retired or been discharged or not.
(c) In every department or agency of state government or institution of higher education with employee positions subject to the Uniform Classification and Compensation Act, 21-5-201 et seq., a veteran who voluntarily submits official proof of his or her status as a veteran, disabled veteran, or a surviving spouse of a deceased veteran who remains unmarried at the time the preference is sought and who is a citizen and resident of this state shall be entitled to employment preference in a position over other applicants after meeting substantially equal qualifications.
(d) (1) If there is an examination, evaluation, or similar instrument given for the purpose of establishing an interview or employment list for such public sector jobs and a person entitled to preference attains a passing grade thereon, he or she shall have five (5) points added to his or her final earned rating if the examination, evaluation, or similar instrument is subject to numerical scoring.
(2) If the examination, evaluation, or similar instrument is not subject to numerical scoring, the selection authority must be able to demonstrate how veterans preference was arrived at in the selection process.
(3) A veteran who established by the records of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs the existence of a service-connected disability, or a veteran who is over fifty-five (55) years of age, disabled, and entitled to a pension or compensation under existing laws, or the spouse of such a veteran, whose disability disqualifies him or her for appointment shall have ten (10) points instead of five (5) points added to his or her final earned rating on the examination, evaluation, or similar instrument.
(e) The qualified veteran's status shall be considered on questions of promotion and retention of employees according to 21-3-304.
(f) The names of candidates who have qualified in an examination, evaluation, or similar instrument given for the purpose of establishing an interview or employment list shall be entered on an appropriate register or list of eligibles in the following order:
(1) Names of ten-point-preference eligibles shall be placed at the head of the register or applicant list of persons certified as having equal eligibility points;
(2) Names of five-point-preference eligibles shall be placed at the head of the register or applicant list of persons certified as having equal eligibility points; and
(3) Names of all other eligibles who do not have preference as provided in this section shall be placed on the register or applicant list in accordance with their ranking of eligibility points.
(g) The persons entitled to preference shall not be disqualified from holding any position on account of age or by reason of any physical disability, provided that the age or disability does not render the person incapable to perform properly the duties of the position for which he or she applied.
(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to the position of elective or political appointees in any department, agency, or institution of higher education or to any person holding a strictly confidential administrative or secretarial position in relation to the appointing officer.
