Title 5 — Government Organization and EmployeesRelease 119-73
§3311 Preference eligibles; examinations; crediting experience
Title 5 › Part PART III— - EMPLOYEES › Subpart Subpart B— - Employment and Retention › Chapter CHAPTER 33— - EXAMINATION, SELECTION, AND PLACEMENT › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - EXAMINATION, CERTIFICATION, AND APPOINTMENT › § 3311
Summary
If a competitive job exam counts experience, a person with hiring preference must be given credit for military service that interrupted similar civilian work and for all experience relevant to the job, including unpaid religious, civic, welfare, service, or organizational activities.
Full Legal Text
Title 5, §3311
Government Organization and Employees — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
In examinations for the competitive service in which experience is an element of qualification, a preference eligible is entitled to credit—
(1)for service in the armed forces when his employment in a similar vocation to that for which examined was interrupted by the service; and
(2)for all experience material to the position for which examined, including experience gained in religious, civic, welfare, service, and organizational activities, regardless of whether he received pay therefor.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
DerivationU.S. CodeRevised Statutes andStatutes at Large 5 U.S.C. 853.
June 27, 1944, ch. 287, § 4, 58 Stat. 388. The words “for the competitive service” are added after “examinations” for clarity. Application of this section to the excepted service in the executive branch and to the government of the District of Columbia, as provided in former section 858, is carried into section 3320. In paragraph (1), the words “service in the armed forces” are substituted for “in the military or naval service of the United States” on authority of the Act of
July 26, 1947, ch. 343, § 305(a), 61 Stat. 508. The word “actual” is omitted as surplusage. In paragraph (2), the words “material to the position for which examined” are substituted for “valuable” for clarity. Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
5 U.S.C. § 3311
Title 5 — Government Organization and Employees
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73