New Defense, State Department Agreement Improves Military Spouses' Ability to Telework Overseas

Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of State (DOS) officials on April 17 signed a new agreement that impacts military spouses working in the executive branch of the federal government and approved to work remotely from locations overseas.

Leading the signing ceremony at the White House was First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, whose Joining Forces initiative supports families of Service members and veterans, and caregivers and survivors.

The new memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed by Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma establishes standard operating procedures for DoD's support to the Department of State's Domestic Employees Teleworking Overseas (DETO) program. The agreement improves the economic security of some military families by enabling eligible federal employees who accompany their Service member or DoD civilian spouses on assignments to military installations overseas to quickly be approved to work remotely, allowing more spouses to keep their federal jobs during permanent change of station (PCS) moves.

"Ensuring our military spouses can maintain meaningful careers is not just the right thing to do, it is a national security imperative," said Deputy Secretary Hicks. "Allowing more spouses the ability to keep their federal jobs and telework strengthens economic security and quality of life for our Service members and their families, and enhances readiness and retention for our all-volunteer force."

DETO arrangements enable federal executive branch employees assigned to domestic positions to perform their work at an approved, overseas worksite for a limited period of time. These DETO arrangements are especially helpful for federal employees who are married to military or DoD civilian sponsors assigned to military installations overseas. With the proper approvals from their employer and the State Department, these employees may accompany their DoD sponsors on assignments overseas and keep their own federal jobs by teleworking remotely from their DoD sponsor's overseas assignment location.  

This new agreement improves upon an interim support arrangement in place since July 2022. Significantly, it expedites the timeline for DOS approval, a major concern for military families, by making DoD responsible for the suitability determination concerning the safety and security of the foreign residence from which the employee will be remotely working. DoD already requires their housing offices to inspect prospective off-installation residences and determine their suitability for occupancy by DoD personnel and their families. A key provision of the new agreement is that a separate inspection by the State Department is no longer required. This provision is expected to greatly streamline the approval process and avoid delays that, in the past, often resulted in military spouses facing a difficult choice whether to forgo continued federal employment or endure lengthy family separation.  

The MOA consolidates the support agreement into a single source document and includes procedures to jointly address future concerns and modify the agreement, as necessary. It also clarifies that spouses of Coast Guard personnel who are assigned overseas under the command of a DoD combatant commander are covered by the new security screening procedures. 

The Secretary of Defense has made Taking Care of People one of the Department's three top priorities, and that includes a commitment to improve the economic security and quality of life for Service members and their families. This agreement helps spouses who are federal employees maintain their careers and keep families together while they accompany their DoD sponsors overseas.