22 U.S.C. § 3905 — Personnel actions

Page 1424 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 3903 of the Armed Forces of the United States, the commissioned corps of the Public Health Serv- ice, or the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; (6) ‘‘function’’ includes any duty, obligation, power, authority, responsibility, right, privi- lege, discretion, or activity; (7) ‘‘Government’’ means the Government of the United States; (8) ‘‘merit principles’’ means the principles set out in section 2301(b) of title 5; (9) ‘‘principal officer’’ means the officer in charge of a diplomatic mission, consular mis- sion (other than a consular agency), or other Foreign Service post; (10) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of State, except that (subject to section 3921 of this title) with reference to the exercise of functions under this Act with respect to any agency authorized by law to utilize the For- eign Service personnel system, such term means the head of that agency; (11) ‘‘Service’’ or ‘‘Foreign Service’’ means the Foreign Service of the United States; and (12) ‘‘United States’’, when used in a geo- graphic sense, means the several States and the District of Columbia. (Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 102, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2075; Pub. L. 98–164, title I, § 130(a), Nov. 22, 1983, 97 Stat. 1027.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 552(e) of title 5, referred to in par. (2), was re- designated section 552(f) of title 5 by section 1802(b) of Pub. L. 99–570. AMENDMENTS 1983—Pub. L. 98–164 struck out ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘As used in this chapter’’, and struck out subsec. (b) which pro- vided that references to Foreign Service officers in any provision be deemed to refer to, with respect to the United States Information Agency, Foreign Service In- formation officers. § 3903. Members of Service The following are the members of the Service: (1) Chiefs of mission, appointed under sec- tion 3942(a)(1) of this title or assigned under section 3982(c) of this title. (2) Ambassadors at large, appointed under section 3942(a)(1) of this title. (3) Members of the Senior Foreign Service, appointed under section 3942(a)(1) or 3943 of this title, who are the corps of leaders and ex- perts for the management of the Service and the performance of its functions. (4) Foreign Service officers, appointed under section 3942(a)(1) of this title, who have gen- eral responsibility for carrying out the func- tions of the Service. (5) Foreign Service personnel, United States citizens appointed under section 3943 of this title, who provide skills and services required for effective performance by the Service. (6) Foreign national employees, foreign na- tionals appointed under section 3943 of this title, who provide clerical, administrative, technical, fiscal, and other support at Foreign Service posts abroad. (7) Consular agents, appointed under section 3943 of this title by the Secretary of State, who provide consular and related services as authorized by the Secretary of State at speci- fied locations abroad where no Foreign Service posts are situated. (Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 103, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2076.) § 3904. Functions of Service Members of the Service shall, under the direc- tion of the Secretary— (1) represent the interests of the United States in relation to foreign countries and international organizations, and perform the functions relevant to their appointments and assignments, including (as appropriate) func- tions under the Vienna Convention on Diplo- matic Relations, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, other international agree- ments to which the United States is a party, the laws of the United States, and orders, reg- ulations, and directives issued pursuant to law; (2) provide guidance for the formulation and conduct of programs and activities of the De- partment and other agencies which relate to the foreign relations of the United States; and (3) perform functions on behalf of any agen- cy or other Government establishment (in- cluding any establishment in the legislative or judicial branch) requiring their services. (Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 104, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2076.) § 3905. Personnel actions (a) Merit principles; ‘‘personnel action’’ defined (1) All personnel actions with respect to career members and career candidates in the Service (including applicants for career candidate ap- pointments) shall be made in accordance with merit principles. (2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘‘personnel action’’ means— (A) any appointment, promotion, assign- ment (including assignment to any position or salary class), award of performance pay or spe- cial differential, within-class salary increase, separation, or performance evaluation, and (B) any decision, recommendation, examina- tion, or ranking provided for under this chap- ter which relates to any action referred to in subparagraph (A). (b) Rules and regulations; discrimination; repris- als for disclosure of information; submission of reports, evaluations, or recommendations; freedom from prohibited personnel practices The Secretary shall administer the provisions of this chapter and shall prescribe such regula- tions as may be necessary to ensure that mem- bers of the Service, as well as applicants for ap- pointments in the Service— (1) are free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, geographic or educational affiliation within the United States, or political affiliation, as prohibited under section 2302(b)(1) of title 5; Page 1425 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 3921 (2) are free from reprisal for— (A) a disclosure of information by a mem- ber or applicant which the member or appli- cant reasonably believes evidences— (i) a violation of any law, rule, or regula- tion, or (ii) mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substan- tial and specific danger to public health or safety, if such disclosure is not specifically prohib- ited by law and if such information is not specifically required by Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national de- fense or the conduct of foreign affairs; or (B) a disclosure to the Special Counsel of the Merit Systems Protection Board, or to the Inspector General of an agency (includ- ing the Inspector General of the Department of State and the Foreign Service) or another employee designated by the head of the agency to receive such disclosures, of infor- mation which the member or applicant rea- sonably believes evidences— (i) a violation of any law, rule, or regula- tion, or (ii) mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substan- tial and specific danger to public health or safety; (3) are free to submit to officials of the Serv- ice and the Department any report, evalua- tion, or recommendation, including the right to submit such report, evaluation, or rec- ommendation through a separate dissent channel, whether or not the views expressed therein are in accord with approved policy, un- less the report, evaluation, or recommenda- tion was submitted with the knowledge that it was false or with willful disregard for its truth or falsity; and (4) are free from any personnel practice pro- hibited by section 2302 of title 5. (c) Withholding or disclosure of information to Congress This section shall not be construed as author- izing the withholding of information from the Congress or the taking of any action against a member of the Service who discloses informa- tion to the Congress. (d) Minority recruitment program (1) The Secretary shall establish a minority recruitment program for the Service consistent with section 7201 of title 5. (2) Omitted. (e) Applicability to other judicial or statutory rights or remedies This section shall not be construed to extin- guish or lessen any effort to achieve equal em- ployment opportunity through affirmative ac- tion or any right or remedy available to any em- ployee or applicant for employment in the civil service under— (1) section 2000e–16 of title 42, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, reli- gion, sex, or national origin; (2) sections 631 and 633a of title 29, prohib- iting discrimination on the basis of age; (3) section 206(d) of title 29, prohibiting dis- crimination on the basis of sex; (4) sections 791 and 794a of title 29, prohib- iting discrimination on the basis of disability; or (5) any provision of law, rule, or regulation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of marital status or political affiliation. (Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 105, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2077; Pub. L. 100–204, title I, § 185(a), Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1365; Pub. L. 101–246, title I, § 153(d), Feb. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 43; Pub. L. 117–263, div. I, title XCII, § 9219(2), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3879.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Subsec. (d)(2) of this section, which required the Sec- retary to transmit at least once annually to the Chair- man of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen- ate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives the Department’s reports on equal employment oppor- tunity, affirmative action, and minority recruitment programs, which reports are required by law, regula- tion, or directive to be submitted to the Equal Employ- ment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), terminated, effective May 15, 2000, pursuant to section 3003 of Pub. L. 104–66, as amended, set out as a note under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance. See, also, page 129 of House Document No. 103–7. AMENDMENTS 2022—Subsecs. (b)(1), (e)(4). Pub. L. 117–263 substituted ‘‘disability’’ for ‘‘handicapping condition’’. 1990—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 101–246 inserted ‘‘geo- graphic or educational affiliation within the United States,’’ after ‘‘marital status,’’. 1987—Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 100–204 amended par. (2) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (2) read as follows: ‘‘Not later than January 31 of each year, the Secretary shall transmit to each House of the Congress a report, signed by the Secretary, on the activities of the Sec- retary under paragraph (1). Such report shall include any affirmative action plans submitted by the Sec- retary under section 2000e–16 of title 42 and any data necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of the program under paragraph (1) for the preceding fiscal year, to- gether with recommendations for administrative or legislative action the Secretary considers appropriate.’’ SUBCHAPTER II—MANAGEMENT OF SERVICE § 3921. Administration by Secretary of State (a) Under the direction of the President, the Secretary of State shall administer and direct the Service and shall coordinate its activities with the needs of the Department of State and other agencies. (b) The Secretary of State alone among the heads of agencies utilizing the Foreign Service personnel system shall perform the functions ex- pressly vested in the Secretary of State by this chapter. (Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 201, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2078.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 96–465, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2071, known as the Foreign Service Act of