Veterans, nurses, and union members protest job cuts outside of the Durham V.A. on April 2, 2025 (Photo: Greg Childress)
A bill expanding eligibility for hiring preferences for military veterans, spouses and dependents in state government got a favorable hearing Tuesday in the Committee on Homeland Security and Military and Veterans Affairs. While veterans are already granted an employment preference under current state law, House Bill 114 would:
“It [HB 114] addresses an employment preference statute that’s a little bit antiquated,” said Rep. Charles Smith (R-Cumberland), one of the bill’s co-sponsors.
Under current law, for example, veterans must have served during a period when the nation was at war. Current law defines the Vietnam War as the nation’s last such conflict.
“Time has passed and so to expand that preference to a greater pool of veterans, it strips away that language [defining the Vietnam War as the nation’s last],” Smith said.
Expanding eligibility for state job preferences could help fill vacancies in state government, Smith said.
In March, NC Newsline reported that the state’s job vacancy rate was 20%. The turnover rate was 12%, but significantly higher within an employee’s first year — 31%. Key sectors have especially high vacancy rates: 33% for health care, and 26% for corrections.
Smith said the changes in the law — particularly a provision extending the preference to spouses — would help North Carolina keep former military personnel in the state once they leave the service.
“As we strive to be a military friendly state, if we want to retain service members as they transition into civilian life, I think having a spouse with a career in state government is a good way to do that,” Smith said.
The veteran unemployment rate was 3.7% in March, which was down from 4.0% the previous month and up from 3.0% the prior year. Meanwhile, the civilian unemployment rate was 4.2%, which marked a slight increase over the 4.1% rate in February.
HB 114 comes amid uncertainty in federal employment as the Trump administration slashes jobs as part of its efforts to streamline the federal government. According to the Pew Research Center, more than 700,000 veterans worked in federal departments and agencies as of September 2024.
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank, reported in March that the Trump administration’s federal workforce cuts may jeopardize the careers of nearly 900,000 veterans, spouses of veterans and spouses of active military personnel. They makeup 30% of the entire federal government workforce. The federal government also gives hiring preferences to veterans. Veterans comprise just 5% of all employed Americans.
The Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides health care for millions of veterans, is planning to cut 83,000 jobs.
In North Carolina, there are 84,900 civilian federal employees, according to EPI. Nearly 28,000 of them are veterans. Meanwhile, 33,200 are spouses of veterans or spouse of active-duty military service members. A quarter of the VA’s 482,000 employees are veterans.
Rep. Eric Ager (D-Buncombe), Rep. Edward Goodwin (R-Chowan) and Kyle Hall (R-Forsyth) are also primary sponsor of HB 114. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development.
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