Federal Daily News
OPM proposes exception to age restriction for preference-eligible vets
The Office of Personnel Management is proposing a rule that would provide an exception to the maximum entry age requirement for veterans' preference-eligible job applicants.
Under the proposed rule change, published June 30 in the Federal Register, hiring agencies would be required to waive maximum age requirements for qualified veterans' preference-eligible applicants unless the hiring authority has determined that the age requirement is essential to the performance of the duties of the position.
OPM proposed the rule change based on a Merit Systems Protection Board finding in Isabella v. Department of State, in which the board found that an agency violated the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 because there was no demonstration that a maximum entry age was essential to the performance of the duties of the position to which a preference-eligible veteran applied.