Any requirement, rule, or regulation set up for the purpose of selecting employees paid in whole or in part with state funds for positions subject to the Uniform Classification and Compensation Act, shall include regulations under Sec. 21-3-302--21-3-306. [Sec. 21-3-301, as amended by Act 653 (H.B. 1545), L. 2003, effective July 17, 2003].

Sec. 21-3-302. Veterans; Preference in employment

(a) This section shall be entitled "The Veterans Preference Law".

(b) For purposes of this section, "veteran" means:

(1) A person honorably discharged from a tour of active duty, other than active duty for training only, with the armed forces of the United States; or

(2) Any person who has served honorably in the National Guard or Reserve Forces of the United States for a period of at least six (6) years, whether the person has retired or been discharged or not.

(c) In every department or agency of state government or institution of higher education with employee positions subject to the Uniform Classification and Compensation Act, veterans who voluntarily submit official proof of his or her status as a veteran, disabled veteran, or a surviving spouse of a deceased veteran who remains unmarried at the time the preference is sought, who are citizens and residents of this state, shall be entitled to employment preference in positions over other applicants, after meeting substantially equal qualifications.

(d)

(1) If there is an examination , evaluation, or similar instrument given for the purpose of establishing an interviwe or employment list for such public sector jobs, and a person entitled to preference attains a passing grade thereon, he or she shall have five (5) points added to his or her final earned rating if the examination, evaluation, or similar instrument is subject to numerical scoring.

(2) If the examination, evaluation, or similar instrument is not subject to numerical scoring, the selection authority must be able to demonstrate how veterans preference was arrived at in the selection process.

(3) A veteran who established by the records of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs the existence of a service-connected disability or a veteran who is over fifty-five (55) years old and is disabled and is entitled to a pension or compensation under existing laws, or the spouse of such veteran, whose disability disqualifies him or her for appointment, shall have ten (10) points instead of five (5) points added to his or her final earned rating on the examination, evaluation, or similar instrument.

(e) The qualified veteran's status shall be considered on questions of promotion and retention of employeesaccording to Section 21-3-304 .

(f) The names of candidates who have qualified in an examination, evaluation, or similar instrument given for the purpose of establishing an interview or employment list shall be entered on an appropriate register or list of eligibles in the following order:

(1) Names of ten-point-preference eligibles shall be placed at the head of the register or applicant list of persons certified as having equal eligibility points;

(2) Names of five-point-preference eligibles shall be placed at the head of the register or applicant list of persons certified as having equal eligibility points; and

(3) Names of all other eligibles who do not have preference as provided in this section shall be placed on the register or applicant list in accordance with their ranking of eligibility points.

(g) The persons entitled to preference shall not be disqualified from holding any position on account of age or by reason of any physical disability, provided that such age or disability does not render the person incapable to perform properly the duties of the position for which he or she applied for.

(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to the position of elective or political appointees in any department, agency, or institution of higher education or to any person holding a strictly confidential administrative or secretarial position in relation to the appointing officer.

Sec. 21-3-306. Reservists; Discrimination prohibited.

(a) It is declared to be the intent of the General Assembly that any person who holds an other than temporary position in the employ of the State of Arkansas shall not be denied retention in employment or any promotion or other incident or advantage of employment or transferred involuntarily to another position because the person is a member of a reserve component of the armed forces of the United States.

(b) The provisions of the reemployment rights protections of Section 12-62-413 and the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act of 1994 as in effect on January 1, 2003, shall be applicable, and the refusal of any state official to comply therewith shall subject him or her to removal from office.

(c) This section shall be retroactive and shall take effect as of the date of the entry of any state employee into one of the reserve components of the armed forces of the United States.