The Office of Personnel Management has lessened the requirements to make it easier for military spouses to get federal employment.
The agency has dropped the geographical and relocation requirements previously in place for military spouses that allowed them to utilize the Military Spouse Non-Competitive Appointment Authority, according to Military Families Magazine. The change, which went into effect on Thursday and will be in place until August 2023, means that they will no longer need relocation orders to a specific region to be eligible for noncompetitive federal employment consideration.
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“It’s never been a brighter moment for a military spouse who would like to seek a government job,” said Meredith Lozar, a military spouse and the executive director of programs for Hiring Our Heroes, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation initiative. “If we’re the most qualified person, then we have a better chance to get that job. In the past, we would often get lost in the system.”
Hiring managers can appoint military spouses who meet specific requirements for noncompetitive appointments, and if one does, the military spouse applicant would not compete against civilians.
“No hero should go unsung — military spouses deserve our praise and our action right now,” wrote Rob Shriver, OPM’s associate director of employee services, in a blog post about the new rules. “They prove every single day how talented and determined they are. They have lived experience that makes them true leaders who will strengthen any organization they join.”
The policy change comes amid a surge of unemployed military spouses. A March 2021 survey by Hiring Our Heroes found that there was a 38% unemployment rate among military spouses.
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The Office of Personnel Management found that military spouses made up less than 1% of the more than 2 million civilian employees working for the federal government as of May 2020.
