Wexton Introduces Legislation to Help Federal Workers Return to the Workforce After Career Breaks

Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Representative Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) introduced the Return USA Act to help federal employees return to the workforce after taking a career break. The legislation would establish the first-ever returnship program in the federal government, which would provide support, resources, and training for federal employees who are seeking to re-enter the workforce after taking a break in their career.

Returnship programs, which have successfully been implemented in the private sector and state-level government in recent years, offer support and training to mid-career employees - particularly women - who are returning to the workforce after a break, often to care for a young child or sick or elderly loved one.

"Too many American workers are forced to make sacrifices to their career to care for their family or loved ones, resulting in major setbacks to their professional life as well as a loss of critical talent and expertise for their employer," said Congresswoman Wexton. "Women disproportionately face these barriers to re-entering the workforce and often suffer lower pay and fewer advancement opportunities as a result. I'm proud to lead the Return USA Act to establish the first-ever returnship program within the federal government to empower these professionals with the tools and opportunities needed to return to the workforce and protect crucial knowledge and expertise within our civil service."

Individuals who take career breaks often face major setbacks in their career trajectory, frequently forced to take a demotion or wait significantly longer to re-enter the workforce than desired, and women are disproportionately affected. Over the course of their careers, more than two thirds of women say that they have taken a career break. The barriers to re-entering the workforce contribute to injustices for working women, such as the "motherhood penalty," the gender pay gap, and lower representation in executive and management roles, where women currently only represent 38% of manager-level positions.

Returnship programs help address these challenges by empowering high-skilled, mid-career professionals to re-enter the workforce. Similar to internship programs, returnship programs offer critical support, resources, and leadership training to mid-career returning employees. While the federal government currently does not have any formal returnship programs established, over a third of Fortune 50 companies use returnships to help meet workforce needs and avoid talent loss. Over 80 percent of participants in returnships are hired because their employers see the value that their years of experience and unique skills bring to the table.

The Return USA Act would create a new, first-of-its-kind returnship program in the federal government that draws upon the best practices from existing state and private sector returnship programs. The program would seek to convert participants to permanent, full-time positions by providing them with onboarding, training, mentorship, and professional leadership development opportunities over the course of no less than one year. A unique program hiring path would be available to prospective participants on the USAjobs.gov site. The program would also pave the way for greater equity within the federal workforce by prioritizing opportunities for underrepresented populations and, to the extent possible, providing wraparound services, such as child care.

"As the Executive Director and CEO of the Society of Women Engineers, I fully endorse legislation establishing a federal returnships program. Such initiatives are crucial in strengthening our federal workforce while providing invaluable opportunities for individuals-particularly women-who have taken time away from their careers to re-enter the workforce. By fostering an inclusive path back to professional life, we can ensure women engineers and other talented, skilled individuals are not left behind, and we can harness their potential to address critical challenges within the federal sector," said Karen Horting, Executive Director & CEO, Society of Women Engineers.

The Return USA Act has been endorsed by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the Society of Women Engineers.

The legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Representatives Lois Frankel (D-FL), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and David Trone (D-MD).

The full text of the Return USA Act can be found here.

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