GovernmentExecutive.com

The Office of Personnel Management this week reported that the hiring of veterans to fill federal jobs increased slightly in fiscal 2004.

The percentage of veterans in the pool of employees hired into full-time federal positions rose by 0.6 points from fiscal 2003 to fiscal 2004, according to an annual report released Wednesday by OPM. The percentage went from 33 to 33.6.

The number of veterans employed in the federal government grew from 449,009 to 453,725, an increase of 1.1 percent. The overall federal workforce grew by 0.9 percent, to 1.81 million, during that same period.

The report also noted a 4.7 percent increase in the hiring of veterans considered "30 percent or more" disabled.

"I am committed to ensuring that all federal agencies...support the hiring of veterans," OPM Director Linda Springer said. "Especially those men and women who return with disabilities caused by such dedicated service to our nation. This commitment is not now, nor will [it] ever be, a burden for us."

OPM's report credited the 1998 Veterans Employment Opportunities Act with some of the improvement in veterans' representation. According to the personnel agency, 12,205 veterans were hired in fiscal 2004 using flexibilities in this law, a 12.4 percent jump from the previous year.

The law allows agencies to hire veterans from outside the organization under merit promotion procedures, rather than normal competition.

A representative from the American Legion, a veteran's organization with about 3 million members, said that while this news is positive, his organization is concerned that federal agencies are violating veterans preference rules.

"The federal government often touts their strict adherence to veterans' preference, which provides veterans with additional assistance in gaining employment in the federal government," said Peter Gaytan, director of veterans affairs for the organization. "The American Legion is concerned that veterans' preference may not be honored governmentwide."

Gaytan said the American Legion and other veterans' organizations have met with OPM to discuss their worries.

While Gaytan applauded the 0.6 percentage point growth in hires, he said he wanted to see the percentages continue to climb as the population of applicants rises. "When you have service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, it's our hope that the federal government will take the lead in hiring these qualified veterans," he said.

As it stands, the federal government has done that, this report found. The government employs more than two times the percentage of veterans working in private industry, and more than seven times that of "30 percent or more" disabled veterans.

The report also said that most of the veterans in white-collar federal jobs held General Schedule 9-12 positions. The Defense Department was, by a stretch, the largest government employer, with 50.9 percent of all federally employed veterans.

The numbers were compiled from OPM's Central Personnel Data File.