ALPHARETTA, GA. - Hire Heroes USA and OnCentive are proud to announce their support for the Military Spouse Hiring Act, proposed by Senator Tim Kaine. It has recently been reintroduced with bipartisan support to amend the tax code to incentivize businesses to hire military spouses. This important legislation would expand the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to military spouses, which currently offers employers up to $9,600 in tax credits for eligible new hires.

Military spouses face unique challenges when it comes to finding and maintaining employment. As they move from base to base, they often face frequent disruptions to their careers and difficulty finding new job opportunities. Notably, they have an unemployment rate that remains steady at 22%, which is 4-6 times higher than their civilian counterparts. 

The Military Spouse Hiring Act aims to address this issue by providing employers with an incentive to hire military spouses by reducing tax liabilities for organizations hiring these individuals. According to studies conducted by the Department of Defense, military spouses are highly educated; however, they earn 25% percent less than civilians in comparable roles. Implementing this measure will help alleviate financial burdens on military families, resulting in substantial positive ripple effects for both the families and the surrounding communities. 

"We are excited to support the Military Spouse Hiring Act and its aim to incentivize employers’ hiring practices while also addressing the high unemployment rate among military spouses,” said Kelly Grivner-Kelly, Hire Heroes USA Serving Spouses Program Manager. “We believe that this legislation will provide much-needed support to military spouses as they navigate the challenges of finding meaningful employment." 

Hire Heroes USA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing job search assistance to transitioning military members and their spouses. OnCentive is a tax credit consultancy that specializes in helping businesses take advantage of tax credits and hiring incentives for targeted groups, including veterans.

The joint support of Hire Heroes USA and OnCentive for the Military Spouse Hiring Act will include a comprehensive awareness campaign aimed at educating employers and the military community about the benefits of hiring military spouses and the tax incentives available through the Work Opportunity Tax Credit.

For more information about the Military Spouse Hiring Act and the joint support campaign, please contact Hire Heroes USA Communications Manager London Brown.

For Media Inquiries: 

London Brown

Communications Manager

lbrown@hireheroesusa.org

About Hire Heroes USA

Hire Heroes USA is a nonprofit organization that empowers US military members, veterans and spouses to succeed in the civilian workforce. Our organization offers personalized one-on-one coaching, professionally revised resumes, mentoring, workshops, a job board, career fairs and more, to tens of thousands of job-seeking veterans and military spouses annually. All Hire Heroes USA services are offered online or over the phone. Funded exclusively through public donations and private grants, we provide our services at no cost to clients. 

Since Hire Heroes USA’s founding, more than 75,000 Hire Heroes USA clients have found success in their job search. Hire Heroes USA prioritizes transparency, earning a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and the GuideStar Platinum Seal. For more information about our organization, visit hireheroesusa.org.

About OnCentive

OnCentive is the nation’s leading profitability and compliance consulting firm. Leveraging their leaderships’ 150 years of combined credit expertise and their state-of-the-art custom technology, OnCentive helps businesses maximize government incentives and tax credits. OnCentive has helped their clients capture over $3 billion in government incentives & recovery programs, like the Covid-19 Employee Retention Credits, as well as other federal and state incentive credits like the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, Research and Development Tax Credit, Disaster Employee Retention Credit, and many others.