Evening star., 1945-09-24
New, Veterans ,Riuhts
Handbook Issued as
Scores Are Lowered

Ing all the rights and benefit
OF veterans, and giving them tn
benefit of every doubt in gettin
their old jobs back, was issue
by Selective service today as tn
War Department announced
new set Of screening scores t.
exempt another 100000 officer
and enlisted men from oversee
assignments.
The handbook, the first overall
summary of veterans rights pre-
pared by Government agency, will
make every draft board a "one e-stop
information center for the veteran
they are charged with helping t,
get back into civilian life.
Under the new War Department
announcement, enlisted men won
be sent overseas If their point scor'
equals or exceeds SO points or i
they are 81 years of age or "a year,
old With more than one years serv'
ice. Also exempt from oversee.
service are officers who had 48 point,
or more as of September 2.
Some Exemptions Lower.
Some classes of officers have ever
lower exemptions. These includ,
Medical and Dental Corps officer.
with As points or more who are AZ
years old: Veterinary Corps or Med
ical Administrative Corps officers
with 80 points or more who are IS
years old; nurses with IL points OF
80 years of age and Medical Depart
ment dieticians and physical therapy
aides with l8 points or 80 years old.
WAC personnel will not be sent
abroad.
The War Department pointed out
that the new ruling does not apply
to Regular Army personnel or volun-
teers for overseas duty.
The Selective Service clarification
of its unemployment regulations in
the new handbook comes at time
when the C1O has announced its
plans to take the question of super
seniority'-the right of veterans to
displace on jobs nonveterans with
greater seniority-to the Supreme
Court.
The policy statement, which will
be used ny draft boards and selec-
tive service unemployment COM
mitteemen, makes these points:
Under the law, a veteran is en-
titled to his old job back if he
held another than temporary posi-
ton, if he still is qualified to per-
form his old duties and if it is. not
impossible or unreasonable" for his
employer to reinstate him
The new handbook gives the
selective service Interpretation of
each of these provisions. stating
flatly that the veteran should get
his job back, regardless of the con-
sequences this may have on other
employees who are nonveterans. AZ
fected by this Interpretation are
union contracts which call for the
employer to give a job to the man
with the greatest seniority, regard
less of whether he is veteran or
a nonveteran.
Here are other provisions spelled
out in the handbook:
Temporary jobs-The fact that
several veterans went into the serv-
ice from the same job does not mean
that some of the men held tempor-
ary positions. The determining fac
tor is the employment relationship
and not the particular assignment.
Part-time work-If the part-time
work involved performing regular
continuing service over an indefinite
period, it rs not a temporary posi-
ton and the veteran is entitled to
the job back.
Probationary work-A probation
ary worker is not to be considered a
temporary employe if the term
probationary" was used only to in
dicate that a period of time should
have elapsed before he was entitled
to certain privileges. such as senior
ity rights, vacations and insurance
benefits.
Civil Service Probationers.
Persons who held probationary
appointments in civil service posi-
tions are regarded as "other than
temporary" employe and are en-
titled to their old Jobs back.
On the question of the veterans
ability to perform his old job, the
handbook points out that wet
Grams returning from military serv-
ice find themselves, in countless
cases, in competition for jobs with
persons who have been filling them
in their absence. Handicapped as
they are bound to be by prolonged
absence. such competition is not
part of fair and just system, and
the intention was to eliminate it as
far as possible"
Warning that the veteran may re-
quire period of time to get his
old skills back, selective service says
that if veteran can do his job or
can be retrained on the job to per-
fern the duties safely and with ac-
ceptable efficiency in a reasonable
period of time, he is entitled to be
restored to the job.
On the score of the employer find-
ing it impossible or unreasonable
to erinstate the veteran, selectivt
service emphasizes unreasonable
means more than inconvenient OF
undesirable,
Veteran Preference.
The veteran, the handbook de
clares, should get his old job bacl
even though he has been replaced
by a substitute whose efficiency o.
personality makes the employs
want to hold onto the substitut,
rather than re-employ the veteran
Union membership, drafts board
are told in the handbook, canno
be required of veteran as a pre-
requisite to his getting his job back
Where an employer has severa
plants and cannot re-employ tn,
veteran in the one where he previ.
ously worked, selective service ex.
poets the employer to put the veter.
an to work in another of his plant.
If it has been customary for work
ers to be transferred from one plan
to another.
Transfer of ownership, merger O.
q reorganization of q business shoult
not ordinarily prevent the veteran