22 U.S.C. § 3968a — Locally-employed staff wages

Page 1450 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 3968a ‘‘(B) Department of Defense wage rates are in- cluded in wage surveys of the Department of State where the Department of Defense operates under in- direct-hire arrangements; ‘‘(2) monitor the establishment of wage rates out- side the United States more closely to insure that United States missions— ‘‘(A) operate under salary schedules that reflect private sector average pay or average pay ranges, ‘‘(B) include the cost of severance in making pay adjustments, and ‘‘(C) survey jobs in the private sector which rep- resent as closely as possible the work force of the mission; and ‘‘(3) substitute, whenever possible, prevailing local retirement plans for civil service retirement with re- spect to the retirement of foreign nationals employed by the United States.’’ § 3968a. Locally-employed staff wages (a) Market-responsive staff wages Not later than 180 days after December 16, 2016, and every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary shall establish and implement a prevailing wage rates goal for positions in the local compensa- tion plan, as described in section 3968 of this title, at each diplomatic post that— (1) is based on the specific recruiting and re- tention needs of each such post and local labor market conditions, as determined annually; and (2) is not less than the 50th percentile of the prevailing wage for comparable employment in the labor market surrounding each such post. (b) Exception The prevailing wage rate goal established under subsection (a) shall not apply if compli- ance with such subsection would be inconsistent with applicable United States law, the law in the locality of employment, or the public inter- est. (c) Recordkeeping requirement The analytical assumptions underlying the calculation of wage levels at each diplomatic post under subsection (a), and the data upon which such calculation is based— (1) shall be filed electronically and retained for not less than 5 years; and (2) shall be made available to the appro- priate congressional committees upon request. (Pub. L. 114–323, title IV, § 401, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1926; Pub. L. 118–31, div. F, title LXII, § 6226(a), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 980.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Department of State Authorities Act, Fiscal Year 2017, and not as part of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 which comprises this chapter. AMENDMENTS 2023—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 118–31 substituted ‘‘every 3 years’’ for ‘‘periodically’’ in introductory provisions. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries DEFINITIONS For definitions of ‘‘Secretary’’ and ‘‘appropriate con- gressional committees’’ as used in this section, see sec- tion 2 of Pub. L. 114–323, set out as a note under section 2651 of this title. § 3969. Salaries of consular agents The Secretary of State shall establish the sal- ary rate for each consular agent. Such salary rate shall be established after taking into ac- count the workload of the consular agency and the prevailing wage rates in the locality where the agency is located, except that, in the case of a consular agent who is a citizen of the United States, the salary rate may not be less than the then applicable minimum wage rate specified in section 206(a)(1) of title 29. (Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 409, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2091.) § 3970. Compensation for imprisoned foreign na- tional employees (a) Eligibility; rates of compensation; terms and conditions of payment; applicability of pow- ers under other statutory provisions The head of any agency or other Government establishment (including any in the legislative or judicial branch) may compensate any current or former foreign national employee, or any for- eign national who is or was employed under a personal services contract, who is or has been imprisoned by a foreign government if the Sec- retary of State (or, in the case of a foreign na- tional employed by the Central Intelligence Agency, the Director of Central Intelligence) de- termines that such imprisonment is the result of the employment of the foreign national by the United States. Such compensation may not exceed the amount that the agency head deter- mines approximates the salary and other bene- fits to which the foreign national would have been entitled had he or she been employed dur- ing the period of such imprisonment. Such com- pensation may be paid under such terms and conditions as the Secretary of State deems ap- propriate. For purposes of this section, an agen- cy head shall have the same powers with respect to imprisoned foreign nationals who are or were employed by the agency as an agency head has under subchapter VII of chapter 55 of title 5 to the extent that such powers are consistent with this section. (b) Time spent imprisoned considered as period of employment Any period of imprisonment of a current or former foreign national employee which is com- pensable under this section shall be considered for purposes of any other employee benefit to be a period of employment by the Government, ex- cept that a period of imprisonment shall not be creditable— (1) for purposes of subchapter III of chapter 83 of title 5, unless it is expressly creditable under that subchapter; or (2) for purposes of subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5, unless the individual was employed by the Government at the time of his or her imprisonment. (c) Time of filing of claims No compensation or other benefit shall be awarded under this section unless a claim there- for is filed within 3 years after—