By Carl Surran
Order Will Smooth Way For Spouses Seeking Federal Jobs
Winter 2008-09
A new executive order signed by President Bush will make it easier for spouses of servicemembers to get federal jobs, allowing managers in all federal agencies to hire qualified military spouses without putting them through the normal competitive hiring process.
The order will allow spouses “to walk into any personnel office of any federal agency and get a job,” according to Patricia Bradshaw, deputy undersecretary of defense for civilian personnel policy. The objective “is to actually get their foot in the door, and then they will be able to move around the federal government that much easier.”
Only about 10 percent of military spouses stay in the same location for five years, Bradshaw said, and the frequent relocations make it difficult for spouses to build a career. “More than half of military members are married, and this is a significant issue for them,” she said.
To be eligible, the individual must be the spouse of an active-duty member on PCS orders (if the spouse relocates to the member’s new permanent duty station) or of an active-duty member of the Guard or reserves. Also eligible are spouses of 100-percent disabled retired or separated military members, as well as widows or widowers of members who died on active duty and who have not remarried.
This is not a hiring preference program, and it does not waive the qualifications needed for a given job. The Office of Personnel Management is expected to issue regulations implementing the order sometime early in 2009.
* * * * *