Military spouses exempted from return to in-office work order
Arthur H. Trickett-Wile The Gazette
Military spouses working for the federal government will not have to return to in-office work, under a specific exemption issued last week.
The exemption follows a brief, but sweeping executive order President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office ordering all federal employees back to full-time in-person work.
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The order said only that “department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary.”
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An online Change.org petition that drew over 2,000 signatures called for a specific exemption to allow military spouses to work from home because of high unemployment among spouses.
Military spouses were unemployed at a rate of 21% last year, well above the national unemployment rate, which has been below 4.5% since the beginning of 2023.
“Constant relocations every two years often make remote work the only viable option for employment. Removing this lifeline will create further financial instability for families already sacrificing so much for our nation,” the petition said.
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The memo released last week exempts those married to active-duty members, those married to veterans with 100% disability rating and the spouses of service members killed on duty. Spouses married to U.S. foreign service members are also exempt, the memo said.
Military spouses can also be hired into remote positions.
In addition to ordering a return to in-person work, Trump is cutting the federal workforce. More than 75,000 employees recently took a buyout offer while thousands of probationary employees were fired over the weekend.
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