well-proportioned as to height and weight. Among the positions for which these requirements will not be waived are: Policeman, watchman, private in the District of Columbia fire department, game warden, traveling hospital attendant, assistant lay inspector, and certain guard positions.

17. Apportionment.-Preference eligibles are not subject to the provisions of the Civil Service Act concerning the apportionment of appointments in the departments at Washington among the several States and Territories according to population, but they cannot be certified for appointment to apportioned positions until they have furnished the evidence of residence and domicile required by statute 3 (civil-service rule VII, sec. 2). The apportionment does not operate against the transfer of preferred veterans.

18. Appointment discretionary with appointing officer. The appointment of a preference eligible is not mandatory. Passing the required examination entitles such person to be certified in accordance with the rules relating to preference and places his qualifications before the appointing officer.

19. When appointing officer passes over veteran's name. An appointing officer who passes over the name of a veteran eligible and selects that of a nonveteran with the same or lower rating shall file with the Civil Service Commission the reasons for so doing, which reasons will become a part of the veterans' record but will not be made available to the veteran or to anyone else except in the discretion of the appointing officer (civil-service rule VII, sec. 1). The statement of reasons for passing over a veteran eligible and selecting a nonveteran with the same or lower rating will be required in every case in which the appointing officer passes over a veteran, disabled or otherwise, and selects a nonveteran whose name appears lower on the list of eligibles. No statement will be required if a veteran, disabled or otherwise, is selected.

20. Civil Service Commission's jurisdiction in preference.-The Commission's duty and jurisdiction end when the person entitled to the benefits of the statute has received the preference in certification allowed by the rules. The appointment of a preference eligible is discretionary with the appointing officer under the statute and the rules. If the appointing officer decides that he will select one of the other eligibles whose names have been certified, his decision is not reviewable by the Commission. All that the Commission can do in such a case is to return the name of the eligible to the register for further certification.

METHOD OF MAKING CLAIM FOR PREFERENCE

21. Form 14, accompanied by evidence, to be submitted.-Applicants for examination who wish to claim veteran preference must file, with their applications, preference form 14 (blue), properly executed and accompanied by the documentary proof required, which is as follows (see par. 5 (a)):

(a) Applicants claiming preference on their own service must submit one of the following: (I) Original discharge, (II) photostat or certified copy of discharge, or (III) official statement from the War or Navy Department, or from the Coast Guard, showing record of service.

(b) Applicants claiming preference for service-connected disability must furnish, in addition to the evidence required in (a) above, an official statement from the Veterans' Administration, substantiating claim of disability. Proof of serviceconnected disability may also be established by the official records of the War or Navy Department, or the Coast Guard.

(c) Applicants claiming preference who are over 55 years of age and because of disability, whether service-connected or not, are entitled to pension or compensation under existing laws must furnish, in addition to the evidence required in (a) above, a statement from the Veterans' Administration showing that they are entitled to pension or compensation.

(d) Wives who claim preference must furnish the evidence required in either (b) or (c) above, whichever may be appropriate, with respect to the person upon whose disability status claim to preference is based.

NOTE. The preference granted to wives of veterans is limited to those cases where the veteran is entitled to disability preference [(b) and (c) above] but where the veteran himself is physically disqualified for examinations in line with the occupation, or occupations, by which he has been accustomed to earn a livelihood. The physical disqualifications must be service-connected if the veteran is not over 55 years of age; if over 55, the physical disqualifications must be such as to entitle him to pension or compensation.

228 Op. Atty. Gen. 298, May 12, 1910.

Act of July 11, 1890 (26 Stat. 235), as amended by the act of May 15, 1937 (50 Stat. 168).

(e) Widows claiming preference must submit the evidence required in (a) with respect to the person upon whose service claim to preference is based.

NOTE. The fact that marriage may have taken place subsequent to the military service of the veteran is not material inasmuch as the provision applies equally to those who were married before and to those who were married after military service was rendered.

QUARTERLY EXAMINATIONS FOR MEN AND WOMEN ENTITLED TO DISABILITY PREFERENCE

22. The Civil Service Commission is authorized to hold quarterly examinations for positions for which there are existing registers of eligibles, such examinations to be open only to men and women entitled to disability (10-point) preference, the names of the resulting eligibles to be entered at the head of the appropriate existing register in the order of ratings attained, in competition with other 10-point preference eligibles, if any, whose names may already appear at the head of the register (Executive order, April 24, 1931).

23. Persons qualified to enter quarterly examinations. Only persons entitled to 10-point preference may enter quarterly examinations. See par. 5 (a) for the classes of persons entitled to 10-point preference, and therefore qualified to enter quarterly examinations. (See also par. 21.) In any case, the applicant must meet the minimum requirements as to education, training, and experience, if any, specified for the examination when it was last open to general competition. He must also meet the physical requirements, except such as can be waived in the case of veterans. (See pars. 15 and 16.)

24. Applications for quarterly examinations. Applications for quarterly examinations may be filed at any time with the Civil Service Commission, Washington, D. C., or with one of its district offices, depending upon the particular examination desired. The Commission will admit an applicant to the next quarterly examination applied for, subject to the following limitations: (1) There must be an existing register for the position; (2) the applicant's name must not already appear on that register; (3) he must not be already serving in a classified position to which he was appointed from that register; (4) he must meet the examination requirements; (5) he must not have taken two quarterly examinations for the position since the examination therefor was last opened to competition by the general public. A partial list of positions for which eligible registers are maintained in the central office of the Civil Service Commission at Washington is given in form 2867.

25. Manner of making claim to 10-point preference.-In quarterly examinations the same method of making claim to disability, or 10-point, preference should be followed as in examinations open to general competition. (See par. 21.)

26. Admission to examination of veterans with a history of tuberculosis.—A disabled veteran granted 10-point preference who has a history of tuberculosis may compete in a quarterly`examination, if otherwise eligible, but proof that tuberculosis has been arrested for 1 year and that his general health is good must be received during the life of the eligible register before he can be considered for appointment. This is in accordance with the general regulation which provides that persons who have had tuberculosis cannot be considered for appointment until the disease has been arrested for at least 1 year and the general health is good. The purpose is to protect the applicant himself and other Government workers.

27. Eligibility for quarterly examinations.—Eligibility attained as the result of a quarterly examination will run for the duration of the register and will expire with that register.

PREFERENCE IN REDUCTION OF FORCE

28. Statutory provisions.—An act of August 15, 1876 (19 Stat. 169), contains the following provision:

"That in making any reduction of force in any of the executive departments, the head of such department shall retain those persons who may be equally qualified who have been honorably discharged from the military or naval service of the United States and the widows and orphans of deceased soldiers and sailors."

4 "Executive departments" are at the seat of government only (26 Op. Atty. Gen. 254) and do not include independent establishments (26 Op. Atty. Gen. 209).

An act of August 23, 1912 (37 Stat. 413), provides in part"That in the event of reductions being made in the force in any of the executive departments no honorably discharged soldier or sailor whose record in said department is rated good shall be discharged or dropped or reduced in rank or salary." 29. Executive order of June 4, 1925.-An Executive order of June 4, 1925, provides as follows with respect to the demotion or separation on account of reduction of force from the departmental service of persons entitled to preference:

"Executive order of March 3, 1923, will be construed to require that in selecting employees to be demoted or separated on account of any reduction of working forces honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines, and the widows of such, and the wives of injured soldiers, sailors, and marines, who themselves are not qualified for positions in the Government service, will be placed at the top of the lists of competing employees, in the order of their ratings, provided they attained for the last rating period an efficiency rating of not less than 80; and they will be retained in existing status, if their record in respect to deportment, attitude, and attendance is satisfactory, in preference to all other persons with whom they are respectively in competition.'

30. Provisions of civil-service rule.-Civil-service rule XII, section 5, provides as follows: "In harmony with statutory provisions, when reductions are being made in the force, in any part of the classified service, no employee entitled to military preference in appointment shall be discharged or dropped or reduced in rank or salary if his record is good, or if his efficiency rating is equal to that of any employee in competition with him who is retained in the service."

31. Reduction of force in excepted positions. The President of the United States has informed the Commission that it is his desire that in making reductiɔns in force the civil-service rules be applied by all agencies which are to be on a permanent basis. The provisions of section 5 of rule XII should therefore be applied regardless of the place of employment, and should also be applied in the regular branches of the Government in making reductions in force in excepted as well as classified positions.

32. Order of dismissal in reduction of force.-The following order is followed in making dismissals in the classified service because of reduction in force: (1) All temporary employees; (2) all employees who fail to attain classified status under section 6 of rule II, which provides for the classification, under certain conditions, of incumbents of positions brought within the classified service; (3) all probational employees; (4) permanent employees. In making reductions in force, only those employees in the class under consideration who are engaged in the same line of work are to be considered as in competition with each other. The provisions of section 5 of rule XII apply to reduction within each of these four classes when the reduction does not require the dismissal of all employees in any particular class.

33. Opportunity given to establish preference. The provision regarding employees entitled to military preference, included in civil-service rule XII, is intended as a protection to such employees. When reduction in force is contemplated, it is incumbent upon the official charged with making such reduction to ascertain which among the employees affected are entitled to military preference, and such employees as are entitled to preference but have not_furnished the necessary proof should be given opportunity to establish their claim to military preference before the reduction takes place.

34. Grade and character of work to be considered.-Reduction may be made to conform to the grade or character of work and the employee dropped when there is no further need for his services. If the position held by an employee entitled to veteran preference is abolished and there is no like position to which he can be transferred, a Government establishment is not required to remove an employee not entitled to preference merely for the purpose of retaining the veteran.

PREFERENCE IN REINSTATEMENT

35. Reinstatement without time limit. Under the provisions of civil-service rule IX, a former Federal employee whose last separation from a civilian position in the Federal service was without delinquency or misconduct, and who had a classified (competitive) civil-service status, or had eligibility for such status through competitive examination, at the time of such separation, may be reinstated upon certificate of the Commission subject to certain limitations. The reinstatement of persons not entitled to preference is subject to certain time limitations unless such persons have had five years' service or more. A former

classified employee entitled to military preference in appointment, however, may be reinstated without time limit.

36. When examination is necessary.-No person may be reinstated to a position requiring an examination different from that required for the position from which he was separated without passing an appropriate examination.

37. Wives and widows of veterans.—If they have had less than five years' service, wives and widows of veterans must be entitled to preference in appointment in order to qualify for reinstatement without regard to the time limit. They must furnish the evidence required in paragraph 21 (d) and (e), respectively, including preference form 14. Separation from the service before marriage to the veteran does not affect the privilege conferred by the provision regarding reinstatement without time limit.

UNCLASSIFIED LABORER PREFERENCE

38. Unclassified laborers not in classified service-Examination, preference, etc., governed by special regulations.—Unclassified laborer positions are not classified under the civil-service law; therefore the preference benefits which apply to positions in the classified service do not apply to unclassified laborers. Examinations for unclassified laborers are held by the Civil Service Commission under special regulations approved by the President.

39. Preference eligibles given priority on register.—Unclassified laborer eligibles granted preference are placed in a group at the head of the register in the order of their earned ratings. Regulation IV, section 1, of the labor regulations provides as follows:

"The names of eligibles, with the kinds of labor in which proficient, rated at 85 or more, shall be registered by sex in the order of their ratings on physical condition, except that honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines, their widows, and the wives of soldiers, sailors, and marines disqualified by injuries received in service and line of duty, shall have priority."

40. Reinstatement without time limit. The reinstatement of unclassifiedlaborers not entitled to preference is subject to certain time limitations in accordance with length of service. Reinstatement in the case of unclassified laborers entitled to preference may be made as provided by regulation VIII, paragraph (b), of the labor regulations, which reads as follows:

"A person honorably released from the active military or naval service of the United States after service in the Civil War, or the war with Spain, or the war with Germany, or his widow, or an Army nurse of any of said wars, or the wife of an honorably released totally disabled veteran of any of such wars, may be reinstated within five years from the date of separation from the unclassified position: Provided, That the Commission may authorize such reinstatement without time limit when, in its opinion, the interests of the public service require such action.'

Mr. RICE. Now, going to the provisions of the bill: I do not know whether all members of the committee have copies of H. R. 5147. Mr. MOSER. I do not believe it is here.

Mr. RICE. It will not be necessary for you to make any detailed comparison. I am very happy to state that H. R. 5101 is much nearer H. R. 5147 than was the case with the bill sponsored by the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars 2 years ago. We have given closer study on the various objectives which we have in mind. That has been the result of many conferences with various individuals and officials on these matters.

There are several essential differences which we consider to be of some importance.

H. R. 5101 makes definitions of service, whereas H. R. 5147 does. not, but embodies the definitions within the general statement of preferences, just as the Executive orders do at the present time.

You will note that, concerning section 1 of H. R. 5147, there are three different classifications of preferred eligibles.

First, would be the service-connected veteran who has established the present existence of service-connected disability or who is receiving compensation, disability-retirement benefits, or pensions by reason

the

of public laws administered by the Veterans' Administration, War Department, or the Navy Department.

The CHAIRMAN. Let us nail down one of them there. Does your bill include peacetime veterans?

Mr. RICE. Our bill includes peacetime veterans. In the first section it specifies that preference shall be given to—

those ex-service men who have served in any branch of the armed forces of the United States who have established the present existence of a service-connected disability or who are receiving compensation, disability-retirement benefits, or pension by reason of public laws administered by the Veterans' Administration, the War Department, or the Navy Department.

Then we have the saving clause which appears in section 15, which provides

that all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions hereof are hereby modified to conform herewith and this act shall not be construed to take away from any veteran, his wife, the widow of any veteran, or any other preference eligible any rights heretofore granted or existing under any law, Executive order, civil-service rule or regulation, or under any regulation of any agency of the United States Government.

It will be noted that throughout the bill we use the term "veteran eligible" instead of the words "preference eligible." That is done for the purpose of including veterans of the so-called regular establishments in all of the provisions of the bill. They will, for example, get the other advantage of the proposals that no veteran's name shall be skipped over without due written explanation and he shall not be discharged without proper cause, et cetera.

So that I would say that H. R. 5147 does give protection to the veterans of the regular establishments. Those are the benefits which they need and it extends the benefit to emergency work which they do not now have, but it does not given them certain other things which we propose to give to disabled veterans or to war, campaign, or expedition veterans.

The CHAIRMAN. But it does give the same benefits to the peacetime veteran that you give to the war-service-connected disabled.

Mr. RICE. No; not all the way through it does not. For example, H. R. 5147 would give the privilege of quarterly examinations to all war, campaign, and expedition veterans and to those regular veterans who had served honorably for 6 years or more. The language in section 8 of H. R. 5147, providing that it be given to "any honorably discharged exservice man who had served in any branch of the armed forces of the United States for a period of 6 years or more," is not contained in H. R. 5101.

We believe that the privilege of granting quarterly civil-service examinations should be extended not only to the 10-point preference eligibles but to all war, campaign, or expedition veterans. Civilservice examinations are sometimes scheduled only once in every year, or once in every 2 years or once in every 3 years and also once in every 5 years, depending upon the number of appointments in each. classification of positions.

Now, a veteran does not submit his application for a civil-service examination except in the event that he is in need of a position; then he may want to take his civil-service examination. If he is in need and wants to take an examination, under normal conditions, an examination may not be scheduled for many months or several years. Under such circumstances there would not be an opportunity for an examination in the particular subject.