Veterans Preference Hiring Laws Added in Three States

Author: David B. Weisenfeld, XpertHR Legal Editor

April 16, 2015

Kentucky, Montana and Nebraska have all enacted laws in the past month that allow private employers to adopt voluntary veterans preference policies for hiring, promoting or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee.

The new Kentucky law was enacted April 1 and takes effect June 23. It makes clear that providing hiring preferences to a veteran under a company policy will not violate state or local equal employment opportunity laws. If an employer chooses to adopt such a policy, it should be in writing and applied uniformly.

The Montana Veteran Hiring Preference Act for Private Employers allows a private sector employer to adopt an employment policy that gives preference in hiring to a veteran, the spouse of a disabled veteran or an unmarried surviving spouse of a veteran. The Montana measure was signed into law on March 30, and also covers nonprofit employers.

Meanwhile, the Nebraska law is also designed to ease the path for veterans to land jobs with private employers. Effective September 5, the measure will permit private employers to voluntarily adopt a veterans preference policy for hiring or promoting a veteran or veteran's spouse over another equally qualified applicant or employee. Those applicants or employees wishing to obtain the benefits of such a policy must provide the appropriate Department of Defense forms to the employer.

These three laws come on the heels of a Michigan veterans preference law that was enacted in January 2015 affecting private employers. Like the others, the Michigan measure permits, but does not require, employers to adopt a hiring preference for veterans. If a Michigan employer chooses to adopt such a policy, it must do so in writing and apply it in uniform fashion to hiring and promotion decisions.