Ernst, Shaheen Call for Leave Without Pay Policy for Servicemember Spouses
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), senior members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called on the Department of Defense (DoD) to implement a Leave Without Pay policy (LWOP) to allow the spouses of servicemembers, who may experience professional gaps during relocation periods, to apply for federal jobs and access existing benefits that they otherwise risk losing.
In their letter, the lawmakers also call for a briefing on the recommendations and considerations of a standardized LWOP policy across all military services for when a spouse is re-assigned.
The Senators wrote, “Specifically, for federally employed military spouses, changes of assignment often result in a break in federal service. The negative effects of this break include fewer available jobs because some positions are only available to current federal employees, the loss of certain accrued leave, and potentially losing agency-matched contributions to Thrift Savings Plan accounts that have not yet vested.”
“An effective solution for this problem is a Department-wide LWOP policy that allows employees to remain in the competitive service when their service member spouses change assignment. While some of the military departments and defense agencies have created their own policies for LWOP to address this matter, many have not, and there is significant variation in the policies.”
The Senators concluded, “We urge the Department to establish a standardized policy for the military departments and agencies directing a baseline amount of leave without pay for federal civilians when their service member spouses change duty locations. Spouses who are able to access an equitable, robust, and Department of Defense-standardized LWOP will be able to apply for more federal jobs that are only open to existing federal employees, can onboard to their new jobs faster, and avoid disruptions to vesting their Thrift Savings Plan investments.”
Read the full letter here.
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