“A bill to increase transparency, fairness, and protections for diplomatic personnel affected by reductions in force, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section prohibits a covered agency from separating more than 50 employees from service pursuant to one or more reductions in force (RIFs) during any 6-month period, unless the agency first (1) submits to the appropriate congressional committees of jurisdiction, not later than 20 days before providing notice to affected employees, a detailed explanation of the RIF—including steps taken to exhaust alternatives such as employee reassignments, the justification for the RIF, assessments of impacts on the agency's statutory mission and on U.S. diplomatic presence and competition with adversaries, and compliance with civil service RIF authorities (5 U.S.C. ch. 35 subch. I and 5 C.F.R. pt. 351)—and (2) briefs those committees on the justification and related criteria. (Thus, RIFs exceeding 50 employees in six months require advance congressional notification and justification, potentially delaying large-scale workforce reductions.)
This section revises reduction-in-force (RIF) procedures for Foreign Service career and career candidate members under section 611 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4010a) as follows: (1) authorizes the Secretary to conduct RIFs for reasons such as reorganization or shortage of funds, removing prior requirements to prescribe regulations considering organizational changes, employee knowledge/skills/competencies, tenure, performance, and military preference; (2) establishes a worldwide competitive area limited to employees of the same rank and cone or specialty; (3) requires RIF determinations to be based primarily on performance via prior selection board rankings, also considering tenure, language capabilities, and military preference (subject to 5 U.S.C. 3501(a)(3)); (4) mandates 120 days' advance notice of separation (no less than 60 days); and (5) affords the same transfer-of-function protections as civil service employees under 5 U.S.C. 3503. The section further grants the Foreign Service Grievance Board the same authority as the Merit Systems Protection Board to adjudicate RIF grievances and strikes from Department of State management rights (22 U.S.C. 4105(a)(3)) the authority to prescribe RIF regulations.
This section (1) extends the requirement for semi-annual reports to the appropriate congressional committees on significant changes to the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) and Foreign Affairs Handbook (FAH)—which provide binding directives to all Department of State personnel, including the Secretary—from 5 years to 8 years after December 27, 2021, and (2) requires the Secretary, before effectuating any changes to the FAM, to provide written notice to and consult with the appropriate congressional committees at least 30 days prior and to brief those committees on the proposed changes.
This section defines key terms for purposes of the Act, including "(1) appropriate congressional committees," meaning the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; and "(2) covered agency," meaning the Department of State, United States Agency for International Development, Millennium Challenge Corporation, United States International Development Finance Corporation, Peace Corps, United States Trade and Development Agency, and United States Agency for Global Media and its networks.