Council: Must Do More
Urge Job Outreach To Returning Vets

By REUVEN BLAU

With the number of veterans increasing as the fighting in the Middle East rages on, the City Council Nov. 16 discussed various ways to make it easier for returning officers to obtain city jobs, including allowing them to get additional credits for more than one exam.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow FOLLOWING THE LAW: Thomas Patitucci, DCAS's Assistant Commissioner for Examinations, tells the City Council that the agency has several programs in place to help returning veterans enter or advance within the municipal work force. The Council discussed granting veteran's additional credits on more than one exam at the Nov. 16 hearing.

Veterans Committee Chair Hiram Monserrate also suggested increasing the five-point bonus veterans currently receive, as well as expanding outreach to returning military personnel to let them know about job opportunities.

Current Bonuses

Under New York State Civil Service Law, veterans are entitled to receive five additional points on an open-competitive test and 2-1/2 points on a promotion exam. Those bonus credits are doubled for disabled veterans. The preference, however, can only be added to a passing score.

Brooklyn Councilman Michael C. Nelson blasted the current rule, which also only allows veterans to use the credit for one exam. "It just really riles me," he said at the end of the hearing in lower Manhattan. "It just really doesn't sit well with me at all."

The Bloomberg administration has not taken a stand on the issue yet. But changing the present setup would require amending state law, officials from the Department of Citywide Administrative Services noted. Testifying before the Council, they stressed that the city has several programs in place to help veterans.

Councilman Monserrate, however, remained skeptical. He asked DCAS to supply him with a list of how many veterans have received the credit in recent years. "My suspicion is that it is a much smaller percentage than it should be," the former cop said after the hearing. "It's important for people to know that if they are veterans they have the credits available. It will help entice more candidates."

'Where's the Outreach?

Noting that most job advertisements don't prominently note the veteran's preference, he added, "I don't know how much outreach is being done. I don't think that's happening."

Thomas Patitucci, DCAS's Assistant Commissioner for Examinations, pointed out that the agency has a special small unit specially assigned to help veterans. He also maintained that the agency has carefully followed all the laws in place designed to help returning veterans.

Making It Count

He told the Council that DCAS allows veterans to "relinquish" their credit if it turns out that it won't help them gain an earlier appointment or promotion date. "Because a veteran can only use the credit once in his or her career, the Civil Service Law seeks to ensure that the use of the credit is meaningful to the veteran," he testified.

DCAS has administered satellite exams leading to Police Officer positions to nearly 3,000 individuals on military bases in Fiscal Year 2006, according to Mr. Patitucci. The NYPD has turned to those areas in order to help bolster its struggling recruitment efforts.

In addition, veterans are given preferential treatment during layoffs, Mr. Patitucci noted.

Vets' Job Assistance

The city ensures that veterans "have every opportunity to take civil service exams," he continued. DCAS has instituted a policy that allows officers overseas to apply for exams that are available only for specific periods and then take them later when they return from duty.

Mr. Patitucci testified that DCAS also works to make sure that veterans returning to their city jobs do not lose out on promotion opportunities, a concept known as the "escalator principle." For instance, a Police Officer who misses a Sergeant exam while in the military can ask to take the test when he or she returns.

If the officer scores near the top of the eligible roster and reaches a list number which has already been called for appointment, the officer will automatically be considered for the next promotion, Mr. Patitucci said. Once promoted, the officer will then be given a "retroactive seniority date," which reflects the earliest date their list number was reached. "This date is used when making all civil service calculations with respect to seniority, for example; when calculating seniority on future promotional examinations and when determining relevant dates with respect to layoffs," Mr. Patitucci remarked.