Military spouse federal employees were told to return to office, until CNN asked the Trump administration

Some military spouses who work in the federal government were notified by their respective agencies this week their remote work exceptions were being rescinded, despite them being granted just days or weeks earlier, several military spouses told CNN.

Some military spouses who work in the federal government were notified by their respective agencies this week their remote work exceptions were being rescinded, despite them being granted just days or weeks earlier, several military spouses told CNN. The guidance from the Office of Personnel Management, the federal government’s Human Resources department, that would have forced them to return to the office was changed Thursday after a CNN inquiry into the matter. Military spouses now expect orders from their agencies will ultimately reflect change again, after weeks of whiplash that left military spouses in the federal workforce deeply worried about their jobs. Many of these spouses were hired specifically for remote work positions, a lifesaver for spouses of active-duty military personnel. Even after the Trump administration issued a return to offices order, a February 12 memo from OPM explicitly exempted military spouses from the order. But then the Office of Personnel Management sent out a FAQ document last week on “return to in-person work” that said military spouses who live within a 50-mile radius of “an agency worksite” were not exempt from the return to office mandate. “Military spouses working remotely within 50 miles of an agency worksite are expected to return to the office unless covered by exceptions based on disability, qualifying medical condition, and/or other compelling reason,” the guidance read. The guidance allowed for “an agency head” to provide exemptions on a “case-by-case” determination. This new guidance, OPM said at the time, superseded the guidance sent on February 12 which explicitly exempted military spouses.