Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 81 — CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES › § 1580
The Secretary of Defense or the head of a military department can label a Department of Defense worker as emergency essential if three things are true. The worker must give immediate, ongoing help to combat operations or to maintain and repair combat‑essential systems. The worker must need to keep working in a combat zone after nonessential people (including service members’ dependents) leave because of a war, a national emergency declared by Congress or the President, or the start of combat operations. It must be impractical to replace the job with a service member because the work cannot stop. Employees of nonappropriated fund instrumentalities may also be designated. The term “combat zone” means what is in section 112(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The term “nonappropriated fund instrumentality employee” means what is in section 1587(a)(1) of this title.
Full Legal Text
Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 1580
Title 10, Armed Forces
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110