Current Law Benefiting Military Families Reassigned to Outof-
State Bases Set to Expire June 30th
Civilian spouses who leave their jobs to accompany their
military spouses when they are reassigned to bases
elsewhere in the United States would not lose their
eligibility for unemployment compensation on June 30th if a bill that passed the state
House of Representatives this week is enacted into law, state representatives Anthony J.
D’Amelio and Selim Noujaim said today.
Under current law, civilian spouses who voluntarily leave their jobs to accompany their
military spouses to out-of-state bases when they receive orders to relocate are only
eligible for unemployment compensation if they leave their jobs between July 1, 2007
and June 30, 2008. The measure that passed the House (House Bill 5438) would make
them permanently eligible for the benefit, representatives Noujaim and D’Amelio said.
Both legislators co-sponsored the bill.
“Service in the U.S. armed forces often demands great sacrifices from our servicemen
and women,” said Representative Noujaim, R-Waterbury. “For married military
personnel, those sacrifices are shared by their families. Military personnel earn less than
their civilian counterparts, and for that reason military families usually require two
incomes to survive financially. When military spouses are ordered to redeploy to out-ofstate
bases, their families usually move with them. That forces civilian spouses to leave
their jobs, which in turn means a significant loss of family income – and too often,
financial hardship.”
“Thousands of servicemen and women from Connecticut are serving in the military and
many are risking their lives every day to preserve our freedom,” Representative
D’Amelio said. “Keeping a military family together is not an easy task under any
circumstances. Military families face unique challenges, including frequent school
transfers and long separations when military spouses are deployed overseas to dangerous
places like Iraq and Afghanistan. They should not have to worry about whether they can
adequately provide for their families if they are transferred from a base in Connecticut to
an out-of-state military facility after June 30th. Enacting this legislation into law will
mean a lot to our state’s military families. By doing so, we can demonstrate our
appreciation and gratitude for the sacrifices they make for us every day.”
The legislation, which passed the House on a vote of 145 – 0 Wednesday (April 17), was
sent to the state Senate for final legislative approval.
