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Spouses get boost to start, continue careers

All of us in uniform know that our families serve our country just as much as we do. Frequent moves can take a big toll on the spouses and children of service members. These issues can range from your kids adjusting to a new school system to simply settling into a new neighborhood.

And all the while, it’s in the back of your head that in one to three years you could be packing up and doing it all over again.

One of the most stressful parts of this process revolves around employment options for the nonmilitary spouse. Surveys show that spouse employment is a big concern for service members — and with only about 10 percent of military spouses staying in the same location longer than five years, it’s not difficult to figure out why.

Finding employment in the private sector is tough for military spouses. And with the way the economy is, managing on a single income is hard for most families.

I know the lifestyle that comes with being a service member; I’m a National Guardsman currently on active duty. It can be hard on both partners in a marriage, especially our spouses. They are constantly moving and going from job to job, which makes maintaining a stable career path almost impossible.

However, thanks to a new executive order recently signed by President Bush, military spouses should have easier access to employment opportunities at the federal level.

The order was first introduced by Bush in his State of the Union address in January, when he proposed that Congress work not only to expand benefits provided to military families, but also take better care of our military families in general.

The new policy, which is set to be implemented by the Office of Personnel Management, will make it easier for spouses of service members to get their foot in the door for federal positions.

To be eligible, applicants must be spouses of active-duty members, reservists on active duty called upon to relocate, or veterans rated 100 percent disabled and separated or retired from the military. Widows or widowers of troops who died on active duty and who have not remarried also will be eligible.

Of course, it’s not as simple as applying for and getting the job. The order authorizes noncompetitive hiring of spouses, though I should point out that it does not waive qualification requirements for a job. The spouse must have the skills required in order to be hired.

The big difference is that with this new policy, federal hiring managers may not be required to advertise vacant positions. The proposed objective is to help spouses gain access to the employment opportunity without having to compete with hundreds of other applicants.

Qualified spouses now will go through the hiring process faster than before, which should be a relief when you don’t know when you’ll be moving next.

Another big bonus is that many service members who were considering leaving the military might reconsider now that their spouses will have an easier time with a federal civil service career. In that sense, this new benefit could help recruiting and retention.

However, military spouses ready to work shouldn’t expect immediate change and a new job tomorrow. The rules and regulations for the policy are not yet written and could take some time to develop.

I know the general counsel of the Office of Personnel Management strongly supports the military and is working hard to implement the order’s regulations and get them out to federal agencies. It is expected that the program will be up and running early next year.

Hopefully this news will relieve some of the stress among our service members while they are working to protect our country.

For more spouse employment information, check out MilSpouse.org. And if you or your spouse have been discriminated against in federal civil service employment matters, contact a labor law attorney or the Office of Special Counsel.

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The information in this column is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. Readers are encouraged to seek the advice of an attorney or other professional when an opinion is needed.

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Mathew B. Tully is a field artillery officer in the New York National Guard and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is also the founding partner of Tully, Rinckey and Associates (www.fedattorney.com/), a law firm in Albany, N.Y. E-mail your legal questions to askthelawyer@militarytimes.com.