How a new licensing law may help working military spouses
Military spouses in licensed career fields will benefit from a new federal law. (Robert Golebiewski/ Pexels)
Military spouses in a host of career fields that require professional licenses will be helped by a new federal law — the first of its kind to help military spouses maintain their careers after a move.
President Joe Biden signed the Veterans Auto and Education Improvement Act into law on Jan. 5. Included in the legislation is a requirement that states recognize active professional licenses for military spouses (and service members) instead of forcing them to get a new license each time their family gets new orders. Some states have been doing this already, but this is the first time that there has been a federal law requiring that state governments grant reciprocity to military spouses specifically.
The Department of Defense estimates that there are more than 132,000 spouses in licensed career fields — about 39% of military spouses in the workforce, Military Times reports. Even though the DoD has had a program to reimburse spouses up to $1,000 in transfer fees, surveys show spouses have had to wait several months for the transfer to go through before they can work. And many spouses — including some of our listeners who reached out to us — said they didn’t even know this financial help existed.
This new law applies to a range of career fields, including teaching, cosmetology and many medical professions, but excludes attorneys. (U.S. Rep. Mike Garcia, R-California, who spearheaded the legislation, explains why in our interview around the 9-minute mark of our recent podcast episode on this topic.)
Garcia said this new law comes at a time when the military is having trouble with both recruitment and retention of service members.
“It’s things like this that make us want to get out of the military or not join the military in the first place when your wife or husband can’t work because you got orders to Virginia or Mississippi where your current credentials aren’t recognized,” said Garcia, a Navy veteran. “That’s a huge toll on our military families.”