President Joe Biden’s administration announced new measures Wednesday to improve a program that allows federal employees who are also military spouses to telework from abroad.
These measures are part of the Joining Forces initiative Jill Biden to support military and veteran families.
The first lady has hosted a ceremony at the White House with Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma, who signed a permanent memorandum of agreement between their departments.
The agreement calls on the departments to work together to facilitate approvals for remote work arrangements under the Domestic Employees Teleworking Abroad program.
That agreement was one of several steps to help military spouses and veterans, caregivers and survivors that were detailed in an executive order the Democratic president signed last June at Fort Liberty in North Carolina.
The White House said the announced measures will help military spouses continue their careers and keep their families together when the service member in their household is deployed overseas.
According to information from the White House, military spouses face an unemployment rate of 21%, which has not changed significantly in the last decade. More than 16,000 military spouses, veterans and survivors work in federal departments and agencies.
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