New OPM Guidance Confirms Remote Work Protections for Military Spouses

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has updated its guidelines to say President Donald Trump's return-to-office order will not affect military spouses working for the government.

In a memo released Wednesday by Charles Ezell, acting head of OPM, it is said that agencies "shall" continue to let military spouses work from home and may even create remote jobs. The clarification came after a memo from January 27 with a footnote telling agencies to ignore the rule that military spouses work in person because of the Military Spouse Employment Act.

The Defense Department says military wives have had difficulty finding work for years because they have to move around a lot because of their service members' duty stations. Remote work has become an essential answer because it lets spouses keep stable jobs no matter where their spouses are stationed.

The most recent advice from the OPM makes sure that spouses of active-duty military members, those whose spouses died on active duty and whose spouses haven't remarried, and disabled veterans with a 100% disability rating can still work from home. This exception also covers the spouses of U.S. Foreign Service workers who are sent abroad on duty.

It is now more evident that military spouses can continue working from home, whether they were hired under the Military Spouse Employment Act or another government hiring law. Concerns were building among military families that the return-to-office policy would not be applied the same way across agencies.

This decision eases those worries. According to the order from January 27, companies had to move eligible workers back to work in person. However, there were exceptions for people with strong reasons to stay home, like military spouses.

‍