National Emergency Authority To Order the Selected Reserve and Certain Members of the Individual Ready Reserve of the Armed Forces to Active Duty
Signed: March 27, 2020
Published: April 1, 2020
Document Number: 2020-06985
📋Summary
This executive order gives the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security extra authority, during the COVID-19 national emergency, to call certain Reserve forces to active duty. It affects units and individual members of the Ready Reserve, including the Selected Reserve and certain members of the Individual Ready Reserve, and it also applies to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as part of the Navy. It authorizes the Army, Navy, and Air Force (under the Secretary of Defense) and the Coast Guard (under the Secretary of Homeland Security) to activate up to 1,000,000 reservists at a time for up to 24 consecutive months, as needed to respond to the emergency. It also directs the responsible department to consult with relevant state officials when using National Guard Reserve Component units under this authority, and notes the order must follow existing law and available funding.
💼Business Impact
This order expands DoD and DHS (including the Coast Guard) authority to activate up to 1,000,000 Ready Reserve/IRR members for up to 24 months, so businesses most affected are defense contractors, healthcare/logistics suppliers supporting COVID response, and employers with high concentrations of reservist employees (transportation, utilities, manufacturing, public safety, and maritime). Expect workforce disruptions from employee call-ups and tighter labor markets in specialized roles; managers should review USERRA obligations (job protection, benefits continuation rules, reemployment processes) and update staffing/contingency plans accordingly. On the opportunity side, firms in medical supply chains, logistics, IT/cyber, facilities, and maritime services may see accelerated federal/state tasking and procurement—ensure your SAM.gov registration, contract vehicles, and surge-capacity plans are ready. Immediate actions: identify reservists in your workforce (voluntary self-ID), cross-train critical roles, confirm leave/pay/benefits policies align with USERRA, and monitor DoD/DHS solicitations and state emergency contracting channels for near-term demand.
Full Text
Executive Order 13912 of March 27, 2020
National Emergency Authority To Order the Selected Reserve and Certain Members of the Individual Ready Reserve of the Armed Forces to Active Duty
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and in furtherance of Proclamation 9994 of March 13, 2020 (Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak), which declared a national emergency by reason of the threat that the novel (new) coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 poses to our Nation's healthcare systems, I hereby order as follows:
Section 1 . Emergency Authority. To provide additional authority to the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security to respond to the national emergency declared by Proclamation 9994, the authorities under section 12302 of title 10, United States Code, and sections 2127, 2308, 2314, and 3735 of title 14, United States Code, are invoked and made available, according to their terms, to the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security. The Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, at the direction of the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, are authorized to order to active duty not to exceed 24 consecutive months, such units, and individual members of the Ready Reserve under the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned, not to exceed 1,000,000 members on active duty at any one time, as the Secretary of Defense and, with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, the Secretary of Homeland Security consider necessary. The Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Homeland Security, as applicable, will ensure appropriate consultation is undertaken with relevant state officials with respect to the utilization of National Guard Reserve Component units activated under this authority.
Sec. 2 . General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
( printed page 18408)(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 27, 2020.