Bulletin 11-01 - Policies from the Veterans' Preference Audit
1.0 - SUBJECT: Policies from the Veterans’ Preference Audit
2.0 - EFFECTIVE DATE: March 10, 2011
3.0 - DISTRIBUTION: State HR Directors
4.0 - FROM: Dennis Taylor, Secretary of Administration DATE: March 10, 2011
5.0 - PURPOSE: To establish policies recommended in the Performance Audit Report from the Legislative Division of Post Audit titled State Hiring Practices: Determining Whether Requirements Related to Veterans’ Preference are Being Met.
6.0 - BACKGROUND: Part of the amendments to the State’s Veterans’ Preference law made by the 2008 Legislature included a requirement that the Legislative Division of Post Audit conduct an audit of State agencies’ compliance with the amended law and report to the 2011 Legislature. Overall, it was determined that State agencies had made a good effort to comply with the Kansas Veterans’ Preference law, but the auditors recommended that the Division of Personnel Services issue policies on two particular processes in order to clarify recordkeeping responsibilities and close a loophole that could possibly result in a veteran applicant not receiving an interview, as required by law. This Bulletin establishes both of those policies, as recommended in the Performance Audit Report.
7.0 - PROCEDURES:
7.1 - Required Documentation for Proof of Compliance with K.S.A. 73-201 (c)
a)In order to prove that eligible veterans who applied for vacant positions but were not selected were notified by certified mail or personal service that they were not being hired and advised of any administrative appeal within 30 days of filling the vacant position, any agency that utilizes certified mail for this purpose is to:
1) Retain a copy of each U.S. Postal Service Certified Mail Receipt (PS Form 3800) used to notify eligible veteran applicants in accordance with K.S.A. 73-201 (c); or
2) Retain a copy of the U.S. Postal Service Domestic Return Receipt (PS Form 3811) used in notifying eligible veteran applicants in accordance with K.S.A. 73-201 (c), if the agency has chosen to utilize the Return Receipt service; or
3) Maintain a record of every tracking number from each U.S. Postal Service Certified Mail Receipt (PS Form 3800) used to notify eligible veteran applicants in accordance with K.S.A. 73-201 (c).
b) As used in subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) above, the term “copy” may be either the original U.S. Postal Service Form, or a copied, imaged or scanned version thereof, provided all relevant information is clearly visible and legible on any copy.
c) Copies and/or records required hereunder may be maintained in electronic form, or in a file cabinet, storage container or other appropriate location of the agency’s choosing, provided that such copies or records can be produced in an orderly fashion for inspection and review, within a reasonable amount of time.
d) Information required to be maintained or retained under this section is to be kept for at least three years from the date that the notice is sent to the eligible veteran applicant.
7.2 - Allowing for Adequate Time for Verification of Veterans’ Status
a) In order to insure that staff from the Division of Personnel Services (DPS) have adequate time to review DD-214 forms submitted by veteran applicants and enter information regarding the applicant’s veteran status into the Statewide Human Resource and Payroll System (SHARP) so that each eligible veteran applicant appears on the applicant summary sheet, agencies are to:
1) Wait for a period of two working days after a position closes before printing the applicant summary sheet for use in determining which applicants to interview; and
2) Print another copy of the applicant summary sheet prior to finalizing all interviews for the vacant position, and check to make sure that no additional eligible veteran applicants have been added since the first applicant summary sheet was printed.
b) The applicant summary sheets required under this section are to be maintained or retained for at least three years from the date referenced in subsection (d) of Section 7.1 above.
8.0 - REFERENCES:K.S.A. 73-201, U.S. Postal Service Certified Mail webpage: http://www.usps.com/send/waystosendmail/extraservices/certifiedmailservice.htm
9.0 - CONTACT PERSON: For program guidelines and general questions regarding the State’s Veterans’ Preference policy or for questions regarding processes and procedures associated with applying for Veterans' Preference Eligible (VPE) State positions, contact Vicki Harding at vicki.harding@ks.gov or (785) 368-6496.
For questions regarding the verification of DD-214 forms, contact Gustavo Victoriano at Gustavo.Victoriano@ks.gov or at (785) 296-4738.
