Sponsors (5)
The bill secures telework protections for military-spouse federal employees who already had them—supporting family stability and agency retention—while excluding future-eligible employees and creating potential administrative and cost burdens for agencies.
Military-spouse federal employees who were telework-eligible before Jan 20, 2025 keep their existing right to telework, allowing continued remote work and reduced commute/time burdens.
Federal agencies retain experienced military-spouse employees when service members relocate, preserving workforce continuity and reducing turnover and hiring costs.
Affected employees (often parents and family caregivers) save commuting time and transportation expenses because preserved telework eligibility reduces travel needs.
Military-spouse federal employees who become telework-eligible after Jan 20, 2025 are excluded, denying the protection to new hires or workers granted telework later.
Federal agencies and managers face administrative and operational strain when required to protect telework for this group while still meeting in-person mission needs.
Agencies may incur additional costs to support remote-work accommodations or redistribute duties, potentially shifting expenses to taxpayers or increasing burdens on in-person staff.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows executive-branch civil service employees who are military spouses and previously telework-eligible to remain teleworking and exempts them from new mandatory return-to-office rules.
Official title: To permit Federal employees who are spouses of members of the armed forces to engage in telework and remote work, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 5, 2025 by Eugene Simon Vindman · Last progress February 5, 2025
Exempts federal executive-branch employees who are spouses of armed forces members from any new requirement to return to full-time in-person work, so long as they were eligible to telework or remote work before January 20, 2025. It also directs the Government Accountability Office to report within 180 days on how many such employees exist, their average one-way commute if required to report in person, and the estimated economic impact of forcing them to return to in-person work. The exemption applies only to executive-branch civil service employees who previously had telework/remote work eligibility; the bill defines key terms by reference to existing civil service law and requires GAO to publish its findings publicly and provide them to relevant congressional committees.