On June 17, 1986 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Federal Appeals Court determination in Attorney General of New York v. Soto-Lopez, et. al. which had struck down the requirement in our State Constitution that the additional points credited to veterans in competitive examinations be limited to those who were residents of the State at the time of their induction into the Armed Forces. We had implemented the Court of Appeals decision in February of 1985 (see Policy Bulletin No. 85-01, Veterans Credits).

To summarize the effects of this decision:

1. For additional credits on examinations, veterans must be residents of the State only at the time of application for credits.
2. For retention rights (i.e., adjusted seniority) at time of layoff and for rank on a preferred list, there are no longer any residency requirements (current residency requirements were removed from Section 85 in 1982).

[Note: S85(1)(a) was amended in 1993 to insert state residence as a requirement for eligibility for additional seniority as a veteran/disabled veteran at the time of retention.]

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