§ 1784. Employment opportunities for military spouses

4,265 words·~19 min read·/usc/title-10/section-1784

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(a)Authority.— The President shall order such measures as the President considers necessary to increase employment opportunities for spouses of members of the armed forces. Such measures may include—

(1)excepting, pursuant to section 3302 of title 5, from the competitive service positions in the Department of Defense located outside of the United States to provide employment opportunities for qualified spouses of members of the armed forces in the same geographical area as the permanent duty station of the members; and

(2)providing preference in hiring for positions in nonappropriated fund activities to qualified spouses of members of the armed forces stationed in the same geographical area as the nonappropriated fund activity for positions in wage grade UA–8 and below and equivalent positions and for positions paid at hourly rates.

(b)Regulations.— The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations—

(1)to implement such measures as the President orders under subsection (a);

(2)to provide preference to qualified spouses of members of the armed forces in hiring for any civilian position in the Department of Defense if the spouse is among persons determined to be best qualified for the position and if the position is located in the same geographical area as the permanent duty station of the member;

(3)to ensure that notice of any vacant position in the Department of Defense is provided in a manner reasonably designed to reach spouses of members of the armed forces whose permanent duty stations are in the same geographic area as the area in which the position is located; and

(4)to ensure that the spouse of a member of the armed forces who applies for a vacant position in the Department of Defense shall, to the extent practicable, be considered for any such position located in the same geographic area as the permanent duty station of the member.

(c)Status of Preference Eligibles.— Nothing in this section shall be construed to provide a spouse of a member of the armed forces with preference in hiring over an individual who is a preference eligible.

(d)Space-Available Use of Facilities for Spouse Training Purposes.— Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department may make available to a non-Department of Defense entity space in non-excess facilities controlled by that Secretary for the purpose of the non-Department of Defense entity providing employment-related training for military spouses.

(e)Employment by Other Federal Agencies.— The Secretary of Defense shall work with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and the heads of other Federal departments and agencies to expand and facilitate the use of existing Federal programs and resources in support of military spouse employment.

(f)Private-Sector Employment.— The Secretary of Defense—

(1)shall seek to develop partnerships with firms in the private sector to enhance employment opportunities for spouses of members of the armed forces and to provide for improved job portability for such spouses, especially in the case of the spouse of a member of the armed forces accompanying the member to a new geographical area because of a change of permanent duty station of the member; and

(2)shall work with the United States Chamber of Commerce and other appropriate private-sector entities to facilitate the formation of such partnerships.

(g)Employment With DOD Contractors.— The Secretary of Defense shall examine and seek ways for incorporating hiring preferences for qualified spouses of members of the armed forces into contracts between the Department of Defense and private-sector entities.

(h)Improvement of Occupational License Portability Through Interstate Compacts.—

(1)In general.— The Secretary of Defense shall seek to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Council of State Governments to assist with funding of the development of interstate compacts on licensed occupations in order to alleviate the burden associated with relicensing in such an occupation by spouse of a members of the armed forces in connection with a permanent change of duty station of members to another State.

(2)Limitation on assistance per compact.— The amount provided under paragraph

(1)as assistance for the development of any particular interstate compact may not exceed $1,000,000.

(3)Limitation on total amount of assistance.— The total amount of assistance provided under paragraph

(1)in any fiscal year may not exceed $4,000,000.

(4)Annual report.— Not later than February 28 each year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on interstate compacts described in paragraph

(1)developed through assistance provided under that paragraph. Each report shall set forth the following:

(A)Any interstate compact developed during the preceding calendar year, including the occupational licenses covered by such compact and the States agreeing to enter into such compact.

(B)Any interstate compact developed during a prior calendar year into which one or more additional States agreed to enter during the preceding calendar year.

(i)Employment Fellowship Opportunities.—

(1)The Secretary of Defense shall carry out a program to provide spouses of members of the armed forces with paid fellowships (including in-person, remote, and hybrid fellowships) with employers in various industries. To carry out such program, the Secretary shall take the following steps:

(A)Seek to enter into an agreement with an entity to conduct such program.

(B)Determine the appropriate capacity for the program based on the availability of appropriations for such purpose.

(C)Establish criteria to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the program in supporting the employment of such spouses.

(2)The authority to carry out the program under this subsection shall terminate on January 1, 2031.

(Added Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title V, § 568(a)(1), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 330; amended Pub. L. 107–107, div. A, title V, § 571(c), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1121; Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title V, § 575, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1405; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title X, § 1081(a)(33), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3872; Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title V, §§ 581(a), 582(a), Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 1910.)