State laws
continue to block military spouses from working in their professions despite years
of ineffective reform efforts, leading to financial and emotional stress for
their families as well as readiness challenges for the armed forces, according
to a pair of reports released in February.
As a result,
the spouses of active-duty service members experience high rates of
unemployment and under-employment, or simply leave the careers they have
trained for, according to an assessment
of state occupational licensing laws from the Department of Defense (DOD).
A separate survey
of military families released by the nonprofit group Blue Star Families
documents the consequences. Military spouses cited their ability to work in
jobs that meet their qualifications as their top issue of concern with military
life, according to Blue Star Families’ 2019 Military Family Lifestyle Survey,
which drew more than 11,000 responses.
Financial
issues are the leading cause of stress among service members and their spouses,
ranking ahead of other “top stressors” including relocation difficulties,
isolation from family and friends and deployments. Also among the top causes of
family stress are the separate categories of “inability to reliably earn two
incomes” and “job stress,” according to the survey of active duty service
members, veterans, National Guard and Reserve members and their families.
As the Goldwater Institute reported in December, military families typically move every few years. That means as they go from state to state, military spouses typically have to go through the time-consuming and costly process of getting relicensed, regardless of how long they have been working in their professions. Since each state sets its own rules and minimum requirements for obtaining an occupational license, a person with years of experience in one state may not qualify for a license in another. Even for those who do qualify, long waits to process the paperwork means that by the time they get their license, find a job, and start working, it is likely they will soon move again and have to start the process all over in a new state.
Military
spouses in licensed professions routinely lose six to nine months of income when
they transition from state to state, according to the DOD report. More than a
third of military spouses work in licensed professions, compared to about a
quarter of the civilian population. The unemployment rate for military spouses
is about 24 percent, nearly seven times that of the civilian population.
“The short
duration of a military spouse’s stay in a State, coupled with lengthy
relicensing requirements, can be sufficiently discouraging to prompt a military
spouse to quit an occupation or cause a military family to leave the military,”
the DOD report states. “The former outcome can be costly for the military
family and the latter circumstance can be costly for the Service, as well as
for the military family. Neither outcome is satisfactory.”
The Defense Department
launched an effort in 2011 to get all states to ease the transitions for
licensed military spouses. Among the best practices it recommended was allowing
military spouses licensed in one state to qualify for a license in a new state
through a process called endorsement. Other recommendations include expedited
processing of the paperwork for military spouses, and providing temporary
licenses so that new arrivals can quickly go to work.
Every state
now has either laws or policies that are supposed to ensure military spouses
are able to obtain an occupational license quickly and with minimal red tape.
But the Defense Department report says many of those laws have barriers that
render them largely ineffective, a problem identified in the Goldwater
Institute’s investigation. For instance, many states will only grant a license
through endorsement if the applicant meets all of the licensing requirements
for the new state, regardless of how long they have been practicing elsewhere. Just
verifying and comparing those qualifications can lead to long delays, even in states
that have endorsement provisions.
Other states
impose their own testing requirements, give regulatory licensing boards broad
powers to implement their own policies regarding military spouses, or are
riddled with “weak language and disqualifying provisions” such that a license
“may” be granted through endorsement to a military spouse.
“Almost all
States have made special provisions for military spouses,” the DOD report
concludes. “However, many of these go unnoticed by boards and military spouses,
and many of these do not alleviate the underlying issues that cost military
spouses time and effort to get to work.”
Jon Riches, Director of National Litigation at the Goldwater Institute, examined the impact of occupational licensing laws on military families in his special report, Breaking Down Barriers to Work for Military Families.
The impact of those weak laws on military spouses is documented in the Blue Star Families report. Beyond the high unemployment rate for military spouses, the survey found that among those who are working, three-fourths say they are under-employed, a problem also cited in the Defense Department report. That might mean they are overqualified for their jobs, based on their education and years of experience, or they are working part time when they would prefer a full-time job.
While the
Blue Star Families’ report does not directly address the licensing issue, it is
a common factor for many of the frustrations military families face, particularly
stress over financial issues and the difficulty of maintaining two incomes, said
Jennifer Akin, senior evaluation manager for the organization and the wife of
an Army captain.
“Spouse
employment is the driving factor underlying all of it,” Akin said. “This issue
is tied to financial health. It is tied to personal well-being. It is tied to
your sense of identity. It is tied to your sense of self. It is tied to your
ability to integrate into your community. Not just spouses but service members
see that as important.”
Akin cited a
new law in Arizona as the best approach to easing the transition for licensed
military spouses moving into a state. The law basically says that any person
who has been licensed in another state for at least a year without any problems
will qualify for an equivalent license in Arizona. It was backed by the
Goldwater Institute and signed
by Gov. Doug Ducey in April. Since then, more
than 750 people have obtained occupational licenses under the law.
“Occupational
licensing is certainly one element that we just need to fix,” Akin said. “It is
a bureaucratic problem that should not exist.”
Mark Flatten is the
National Investigative Journalist at the Goldwater Institute.
Since 1988, the Goldwater Institute has been in the liberty business — defending and promoting freedom, and achieving more than 400 victories in all 50 states. Donate today to help support our mission.
We Protect Your Rights
Our attorneys defend individual rights and protect those who cannot protect themselves.
Sign up for the latest news, event updates, and more.
Wait! Don’t close this yet!
We are grateful for your support of the Goldwater Institute’s efforts to advance and defend liberty throughout the United States. For over 36 years, we’ve been defending the rights of Americans to live their lives free from government interference.
And Goldwater is unique in that we direct our efforts to the 50 states where we introduce and advance innovative ideas that expand freedom. And we fight in courtrooms and capitals nationwide to defend individual liberty.
In 2024 alone, we scored over 50 policy and litigation victories defending liberty!
And that’s just the beginning.
Our plans for 2025 include:
Stopping pernicious DEI and other woke programs in America’s universities.
Ensuring that patients suffering from rare and terminal diseases have access to cutting-edge, lifesaving medical treatments, without having to first seek permission from the government.
Defending parental rights across the United States so that parents can send their kids to the school that best fits their needs, free from leftist indoctrination.
Eliminating government interference in the fundamental right of individuals to own property and use it as they see fit.
And much, much more
We seek to restore the presumption of liberty; that people are free to act without first asking permission from the government.
But we cannot do this without you. Will you join us as we fight to preserve and advance liberty throughout the country? As we seek new and innovative ways to defend freedom in all 50 states?
And there’s great news: Thanks to a generous Goldwater supporter, your donation today will be doubled!
So please, join us in fighting to advance liberty and score real wins for freedom from coast to coast!