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Military Family Anti-Discrimination Status

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Key Message

To supplement employment protections under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, states can add military family status as a class protected in state education, housing, public utilities and civil rights laws.

Analysis

Amending protective discrimination statutes to define military family status as a protected class gives active-duty military families the chance to seek, obtain and hold employment and housing, as well as providing safeguards in other areas for which veterans are protected.

Statistic

According to the 2021 Active Duty Spouse Survey, 64% of military spouses were in the civilian labor force, meaning they were either employed or unemployed and actively seeking work. And the spouses who were unemployed had been looking for work for an average of 19 weeks.

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