A series of executive orders and laws dating back decades has sought to encourage agencies to employ spouses of military personnel. Image: Steve Heap/Shutterstock.com
Federal agencies should continue remote work arrangements for spouses of military personnel, and of Foreign Service members who are stationed overseas, as exceptions to the Trump administration’s return-to-office directive, OPM has told agencies.
“Agencies shall allow military spouses to continue in existing remote work arrangements—regardless of whether they were appointed under the Military Spouse Employment Act authorities—and may continue to appoint military spouses to remote work positions. This guidance also applies to spouses of members of the U.S. Foreign Service who are on overseas assignments,” says a memo on chcoc.gov.
The executive order and initial OPM guidance provided agencies with discretion to exclude employees from the directive “due to a compelling reason.” A law provides for military spouses to be noncompetitively appointed to positions in which they will engage in remote work, and they “are consequently not eligible employees covered by return-to-office plans,” the new guidance says.
A series of executive orders and laws dating back decades has sought to encourage agencies to employ spouses of military personnel, who otherwise commonly have difficulty gaining employment and building careers due to frequent moves to accompany the military member. Under those policies, the term “military spouse” covers any spouses of members of the armed forces on active duty, as well as spouses of disabled or deceased members of the armed forces.
A law enacted in 2021 extended some of the same policies to spouses of Foreign Service personnel stationed overseas, who are in a similar position.
“This guidance also covers spouses of U.S. Foreign Service members who are on overseas assignments,” OPM said. “Agencies should ensure that the spouses of U.S. Foreign Service members on overseas assignments are exempted from any return-to-office requirements. In addition, spouses of U.S. Foreign Service members on overseas assignments may continue to be hired to remote work positions” consistent with law.
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