GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

1987 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 1064

HOUSE BILL 1133

 

AN ACT TO STRENGTHEN THE PREFERENCE TO BE ACCORDED VETERANS FOR STATE EMPLOYMENT.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  Chapter 126 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article after Article 12 to read:

"Article 13.

"Veteran's Preference.

"§ 126-80.  Declaration of policy.-It shall be the policy of the State of North Carolina that, in appreciation for their service to this State and this country during a period of war, and in recognition of the time and advantage lost toward the pursuit of a civilian career, veterans shall be granted preference in employment for positions subject to the provisions of this Chapter with every State department, agency, and institution.

"§ 126-81.  Definitions.-As used in this Article:

(1)       'A period of war' includes World War I (April 16, 1917, through November 11, 1918), World War II (December 7, 1941, through December 31, 1946), the Korean Conflict (June 27, 1950, through January 31, 1955), the period of time between January 31, 1955, and the end of the hostilities in Vietnam (May 7, 1975), or any other campaign, expedition, or engagement for which a campaign badge or medal is authorized by the United States Department of Defense.

(2)       'Veteran' means a person who served in the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty, for reasons other than training, and has been discharged under other than dishonorable conditions.

(3)       'Eligible veteran' means:

a.         A veteran who served during a period of war; or

b.         The spouse of a disabled veteran; or

c.         The surviving spouse or dependent of a veteran who dies on active duty during a period of war either directly or indirectly as a result of such service; or

d.         A veteran who suffered a service-connected disability during peacetime; or

e.         The spouse of a veteran described in subdivision d. of this subsection; or

f.          The surviving spouse or dependent of a person who served in the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty, for reasons other than training, who died for service-related reasons during peacetime.

"§ 126-82.  State Personnel Commission to provide for preference.-(a) The State Personnel Commission shall provide that in evaluating the qualifications of an eligible veteran against the minimum requirements for obtaining a position, credit shall be given for all military service training or schooling and experience that bears a reasonable and functional relationship to the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for the position.

(b)       The State Personnel Commission shall provide that if an eligible veteran has met the minimum requirements for the position, after receiving experience credit under subsection (a) of this section, he shall receive experience credit as determined by the Commission for additional related and unrelated military service.

(c)       The State Personnel Commission may provide that in reduction in force situations where seniority or years of service is one of the considerations for retention, an eligible veteran shall be accorded credit for military service.

(d)       Any eligible veteran who has reason to believe that he or she did not receive a veteran's preference in accordance with the provisions of this Article or rules adopted under it may appeal directly to the State Personnel Commission.

(e)       The willful failure of any employee subject to the provisions of Article 8 of this Chapter to comply with the provisions of this Article or rules adopted under it constitutes personal misconduct in accordance with the provisions and promulgated rules of this Chapter, including those for suspension, demotion, or dismissal.

"§ 126-83.  Exceptions.-Notwithstanding G.S. 126-5, and notwithstanding provisions in that section that only certain Articles of this Chapter apply to some employees, this Article applies to all persons covered by this Chapter except those exempted by G.S. 126-5(c) (2), G.S. 126-5(c)(3), G.S. 126-5(c)(4), G.S. 126-5(c1), G.S. 126-5(c2), or G.S. 126-5(c3), but this Article does not apply to those persons covered by G.S. 126-5(a)(2)."

Sec. 2.  G.S. 128-15 reads as rewritten:

"§ 128-15.  Employment preference for veterans and their spouses or surviving spouses.-(a) It shall be the policy of the State of North Carolina that, in appreciation for their service to this State and this country during a period of war, and in recognition of the time and advantage lost toward the pursuit of a civilian career, veterans shall be granted preference in employment with every State department, agency, and institution.

(b)       As used in this section:

(1)       'A period of war' includes World War I (April 16, 1917, through November 11, 1918), World War II (December 7, 1941, through December 31, 1946), the Korean Conflict (June 27, 1950, through January 31, 1955), the period of time between January 31, 1955, and the end of the hostilities in Vietnam (May 7, 1975), or any other campaign, expedition, or engagement for which a campaign badge or medal is authorized by the United States Department of Defense.

(2)       'Veteran' means a person who served in the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty, for reasons other than training, and has been discharged under other than dishonorable conditions.

(3)       'Eligible veteran' means:

a.         A veteran who served during a period of war; or

b.         The spouse of a disabled veteran ; or

c.         The surviving spouse or dependent of a veteran who dies on active duty during a period of war either directly or indirectly as the result of such service; or

d.         A veteran who suffered a disabling injury for service-related reasons during peacetime; or

e.         The spouse of a veteran described in subdivision d. of this subsection; or

f.          The surviving spouse or dependent of a person who served in the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty, for reasons other than training, who dies for service-related reasons during peacetime.

(c)       Hereafter, in all evaluations of applicants for positions with this State or any of its departments, institutions or agencies, a preference shall be awarded to all eligible veterans who are citizens of the State and who served the State or the United States honorably in either the army, navy, marine corps, nurses' corps, air corps, air force, coast guard, or any of the armed services during a period of war.

(d)       The provisions of this section shall be subject to the provisions of Article 1 of Chapter 165 of the General Statutes, and Parts 13 and 19 of Article 9 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes."

Sec. 3. G.S. 126-5(a) reads as rewritten:

"(a)      The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to:

(1)       All State employees not herein exempt, and

(2)       To all employees of area mental health, mental retardation, substance abuse authorities, and to employees of local social services departments, public health departments, and local emergency management agencies that receive federal grant-in-aid funds; and the provision of this Chapter may apply to such other county employees as the several boards of county commissioners may from time to time determine."

Sec. 4.  G.S. 128-15.1 is repealed.

Sec. 5.  This act shall become effective October 1, 1988.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 7th day of July, 1988.