President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday announced new steps to improve a program that lets federal employees who also are military spouses telework from overseas. The steps are part of Jill Biden’s Joining Forces initiative to support military and veteran families.
Quick Read
- New Program Improvements: The Biden administration announced enhancements to the Domestic Employees Teleworking Overseas program, which allows federal employees who are military spouses to telework from abroad.
- Jill Biden’s Role: The initiative is part of First Lady Jill Biden’s Joining Forces initiative, which aims to support military and veteran families.
- White House Ceremony: A ceremony at the White House was scheduled, featuring Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma signing a permanent memorandum of agreement to collaborate on easing remote work approvals for military spouses.
- Background of the Initiative: The improvements follow an executive order signed by President Joe Biden in June last year, which introduced several measures to assist military and veteran spouses, caregivers, and survivors.
- Impact on Military Spouses: The initiative is designed to help military spouses continue their careers and maintain family unity during international assignments. This is critical as military spouses have faced a consistent unemployment rate of 21% over the past decade.
- Broader Employment Context: Over 16,000 military, veteran, and surviving spouses are employed across various federal departments and agencies, highlighting the significance of this initiative in supporting their professional and personal lives.
The Associated Press has the story:
Biden announces help for fed. employees who are military spouses & want to telework from abroad
Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP) —
President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday announced new steps to improve a program that lets federal employees who also are military spouses telework from overseas. The steps are part of Jill Biden’s Joining Forces initiative to support military and veteran families.
The first lady was hosting a White House ceremony later Wednesday with Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma, who were signing a permanent memorandum of agreement between their departments.
The agreement calls on the departments to work together to ease approvals of remote work arrangements under the Domestic Employees Teleworking Overseas program. Such an agreement was one of several steps to help military and veteran spouses, caregivers and survivors that was laid out in an executive order the Democratic president signed last June at Fort Liberty in North Carolina.
The White House said the steps announced will help military spouses continue their careers and keep their families together when the servicemember in their household is stationed abroad.
Military spouses face a 21% unemployment rate that has not significantly changed over the past decade, according to information from the White House. More than 16,000 military, veteran and surviving spouses work across federal departments and agencies.
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