As a part of a statewide effort to offer a veteran’s hiring preference in state government, the College of Charleston has implemented a veteran’s preference in the hiring process for all posted full-time equivalent (FTE) positions.
Qualifying United States armed forces veteran applicants who apply on or after Jan. 1, 2021, are entitled to consideration for preference in the hiring process.
“The Office of Human Resources is pleased to announce the implementation of the new South Carolina State Employee Veteran’s Hiring Preference,” says Ed Pope, vice president of human resources at the College of Charleston. “This is good news for us all, and underscores the College’s commitment to our military veterans.”
Any veteran who has served on active duty for reasons other than training and was discharged under honorable conditions is eligible to claim the veteran’s preference. In order to receive an interview pursuant to this preference, eligible veterans must meet the minimum training and experience requirements for the position and must be capable of performing the duties assigned to the position with or without a reasonable accommodation.
According to the South Carolina State Employee Veteran’s Hiring Preference, at least one qualified veteran must be interviewed for every FTE position posted. If there are no qualified veteran applicants for the position who meet the training and experience requirements for the position, the requirement to interview a veteran does not apply and there is no further obligation under this preference.
To claim veteran’s preference, the applicant must certify on their employment application that they are an honorably discharged veteran and acknowledge that they may be required to submit a DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, if selected for interview. Qualified veteran applicants who do not claim the preference can still be interviewed and hired.
Two veteran-status questions have been added to the hiring manager’s dashboard in PeopleAdmin, where they will be displayed on the applicant tab. When reviewing applications, hiring managers should make note of any candidates who meet the position’s minimum requirements and selected “yes” for both questions related to veteran status on the application for employment. The hiring manager must include at least one of these qualified candidates in the pool of applicants selected for interview.
The Office of Human Resources, the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs and the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs will be providing additional guidance to hiring managers as positions are recruited.
Any questions about this new process regarding staff should be addressed to Sherri Shannon at shannons@cofc.edu, and regarding faculty to Deanna Caveny at cavenyd@cofc.edu.
