22 U.S.C. § 3949 — Limited appointments

Page 1442 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 3949 Service for active duty in the same personnel category as that member was serving at the time of retirement. A retired career member may be recalled under this section to any appro- priate salary class or rate, except that a retired career member of the Senior Foreign Service may not be recalled to a salary class higher than the one in which the member was serving at the time of retirement unless appointed to such higher class by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. (b) Former career members Former career members of the Service may be reappointed under section 3942(a)(1) or 3943 of this title, without regard to section 3946 of this title, in a salary class which is appropriate in light of the qualifications and experience of the individual being reappointed. (Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 308, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2086.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries USAID OVERSEAS PROGRAM Pub. L. 118–47, div. F, title VII, § 7065(a)–(d), Mar. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 846, provided that: ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—Up to $170,000,000 of the funds made available in title III of this Act [title III of div. F of Pub. L. 118–47, 138 Stat. 740] pursuant to or to carry out the provisions of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 [22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.], including funds appro- priated under the heading ‘Assistance for Europe, Eur- asia and Central Asia’, may be used by the United States Agency for International Development to hire and employ individuals in the United States and over- seas on a limited appointment basis pursuant to the au- thority of sections 308 and 309 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3948 and 3949). ‘‘(b) RESTRICTION.—The authority to hire individuals contained in subsection (a) shall expire on September 30, 2025. ‘‘(c) PROGRAM ACCOUNT CHARGED.—The account charged for the cost of an individual hired and em- ployed under the authority of this section shall be the account to which the responsibilities of such individual primarily relate: Provided, That funds made available to carry out this section may be transferred to, and merged with, funds appropriated by this Act in title II [title II of div. F of Pub. L. 118–47, 138 Stat. 739] under the heading ‘Operating Expenses’. ‘‘(d) FOREIGN SERVICE LIMITED EXTENSIONS.—Individ- uals hired and employed by USAID [United States Agency for International Development], with funds made available in this Act [div. F of Pub. L. 118–47, 138 Stat. 729] or prior Acts making appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs, pursuant to the authority of section 309 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3949), may be extended for a period of up to 4 years notwithstanding the limitation set forth in such section.’’ Similar provisions were contained in the following prior appropriation acts: Pub. L. 117–328, div. K, title VII, § 7065(a)–(d), Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5086. Pub. L. 117–103, div. K, title VII, § 7065(a)–(d), Mar. 15, 2022, 136 Stat. 678. Pub. L. 116–260, div. K, title VII, § 7064(a)–(d), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 1809. Pub. L. 116–94, div. G, title VII, § 7064(a)–(d), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 2928, 2929, as amended by Pub. L. 116–136, div. B, title XI, § 21004, Mar. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 591. Pub. L. 116–6, div. F, title VII, § 7057(a)–(e), Feb. 15, 2019, 133 Stat. 371. Pub. L. 115–141, div. K, title VII, § 7057(a)–(e), Mar. 23, 2018, 132 Stat. 941. Pub. L. 115–31, div. J, title VII, § 7057(a)–(e), May 5, 2017, 131 Stat. 695. Pub. L. 114–113, div. K, title VII, § 7057(a)–(e), Dec. 18, 2015, 129 Stat. 2803, 2804. Pub. L. 113–235, div. J, title VII, § 7057(a)–(e), Dec. 16, 2014, 128 Stat. 2664, 2665. Pub. L. 113–76, div. K, title VII, § 7057(a)–(e), Jan. 17, 2014, 128 Stat. 549. Pub. L. 112–74, div. I, title VII, § 7057(a)–(e), Dec. 23, 2011, 125 Stat. 1244. Pub. L. 111–117, div. F, title VII, § 7059(a)–(g), Dec. 16, 2009, 123 Stat. 3380, 3381. Pub. L. 111–8, div. H, title VII, § 7059(a)–(g), Mar. 11, 2009, 123 Stat. 896. Pub. L. 110–161, div. J, title VI, § 676, Dec. 26, 2007, 121 Stat. 2357. Pub. L. 109–102, title V, § 577, Nov. 14, 2005, 119 Stat. 2231. Pub. L. 108–447, div. D, title V, § 588, Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 3034. Pub. L. 108–199, div. D, title V, § 525, Jan. 23, 2004, 118 Stat. 176, provided that: ‘‘Funds appropriated by this and subsequent appropriations Acts to carry out the provisions of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 [22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.], including funds appro- priated under the heading ‘Assistance for Eastern Eu- rope and the Baltic States’, may be made available to employ individuals overseas on a limited appointment basis pursuant to the authority of sections 308 and 309 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 [22 U.S.C. 3948, 3949]: Provided, That in fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006 the au- thority of this section may be used to hire not more than 85 individuals in each such year.’’ § 3949. Limited appointments (a) A limited appointment in the Service, in- cluding an appointment of an individual who is an employee of an agency, may not exceed 5 years in duration and, except as provided in sub- sections (b) and (c), may not be extended or re- newed. A limited appointment in the Service which is limited by its terms to a period of one year or less is a temporary appointment. (b) A limited appointment may be extended for continued service— (1) as a consular agent; (2) in accordance with section 3951(a) of this title; (3) as a career candidate, if— (A) continued service is determined appro- priate to remedy a matter that would be cognizable as a grievance under subchapter XI; or (B) the individual is serving in the uni- formed services (as defined in section 4303 of title 38) and the limited appointment expires in the course of such service; (4) as a career employee in another Federal personnel system serving in a Foreign Service position on detail from another agency; (5) as a foreign national employee; (6) in exceptional circumstances if the Sec- retary determines the needs of the Service re- quire the extension of— (A) a limited noncareer appointment for a period not to exceed 1 year; or (B) a limited appointment of a career can- didate for the minimum time needed to re- solve a grievance, claim, investigation, or complaint not otherwise provided for in this section. (c)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) non- career employees who have served for 5 consecu- tive years under a limited appointment under this section may be reappointed to a subsequent Page 1443 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 3951 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘chapter’’. noncareer limited appointment if there is at least a 1-year break in service before such new appointment. (2) The Secretary may waive the 1-year break requirement under paragraph (1) in cases of spe- cial need. (Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 309, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2086; Pub. L. 100–204, title I, § 176, Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1361; Pub. L. 103–236, title I, § 180(a)(1), Apr. 30, 1994, 108 Stat. 415; Pub. L. 103–415, § 1(hh), Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4303; Pub. L. 114–323, title IV, § 409, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1930.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2016—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 114–323, § 409(1), substituted ‘‘subsections (b) and (c)’’ for ‘‘subsection (b)’’. Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 114–323, § 409(2)(A), substituted ‘‘if—’’ for ‘‘if’’, inserted subpar. (A) designation before ‘‘continued service’’ and ‘‘or’’ after semicolon at end, and added subpar. (B). Subsec. (b)(6). Pub. L. 114–323, § 409(2)(B)–(D), added par. (6). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 114–323, § 409(3), added subsec. (c). 1994—Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 103–236, as amended by Pub. L. 103–415, added par. (5). 1987—Pub. L. 100–204 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), substituted ‘‘subsection (b)’’ for ‘‘section 3951(a) of this title’’, and added subsec. (b). § 3950. Reemployment rights following limited appointment Any employee of an agency who accepts a lim- ited appointment in the Service with the con- sent of the head of the agency in which the em- ployee is employed shall be entitled, upon the termination of such limited appointment, to be reemployed in accordance with section 3597 of title 5. (Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 310, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2087.) Executive Documents ENTITLEMENT TO BENEFITS FOR SERVICES PERFORMED OUTSIDE UNITED STATES; SERVICE EXCEEDING THIRTY MONTHS Persons appointed, employed, or assigned after May 19, 1959, under former section 1787(c) of this title or sec- tion 2385(d) of this title for the purpose of performing functions under the Mutual Security Act of 1954 (see Short Title note set out under section 1754 of this title) and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (section 2151 et seq. of this title) outside the United States shall not, unless otherwise agreed by the agency in which such benefits may be exercised, be entitled to the benefits provided for by this section in cases in which their service under the appointment, employment, or assign- ment exceeds thirty months. See Ex. Ord. No. 12163, § 1–602(b), Sept. 29, 1979, 44 F.R. 56677, as amended, set out as a note under section 2381 of this title. § 3951. United States citizens hired abroad (a) Appointment of family members The Secretary, under section 3943 of this title, may appoint United States citizens, who are family members of government employees as- signed abroad or are hired for service at their post of residence, for employment in positions customarily filled by Foreign Service officers, Foreign Service personnel, and foreign national employees. (b) Family nexus as affirmative hiring factor The fact that an applicant for employment in a position referred to in subsection (a) is a fam- ily member of a Government employee assigned abroad shall be considered an affirmative factor in employing such person. (c) Compensation of family and non-family mem- ber employees (1) Non-family members employed under this section for service at their post of residence shall be paid in accordance with local compensa- tion plans established under section 3968 of this title. (2) Family members employed under this sec- tion shall be paid in accordance with the For- eign Service Schedule or the salary rates estab- lished under section 3967 of this title. (3) In exceptional circumstances, non-family members may be paid in accordance with the Foreign Service Schedule or the salary rates es- tablished under section 3967 of this title, if the Secretary determines that the national interest would be served by such payments. (d) Non-family member employees ineligible for certain benefits Nonfamily member United States citizens em- ployed under this section shall not be eligible by reason of such employment for benefits under subchapter VIII of this chapter, or under chap- ters 1 83 or 84 of title 5. (e) Employment standards The Secretary shall hold a family member of a government employee described in subsection (a) seeking employment in a position described in that subsection to the same employment standards as those applicable to Foreign Service officers, Foreign Service personnel, or foreign national employees seeking the same or a sub- stantially similar position. (Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 311, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2087; Pub. L. 103–236, title I, § 180(a)(2), Apr. 30, 1994, 108 Stat. 415; Pub. L. 103–415, § 1(h)(1), Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4300; Pub. L. 117–81, div. F, title LXII, § 6205, Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 2391.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2021—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 117–81 added subsec. (e). 1994—Pub. L. 103–415 substituted ‘‘United States citi- zens hired abroad’’ for ‘‘Employment of family mem- bers of Government employees’’ as section catchline and inserted ‘‘by reason of such employment’’ after ‘‘el- igible’’ in subsec. (d). Pub. L. 103–236 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: ‘‘(a) The Secretary, when employing individuals abroad in positions to which career members of the Service are not customarily assigned (including, when continuity over a long term is not a significant consid- eration, vacant positions normally filled by foreign na- tional employees), shall give equal consideration to employing available qualified family members of mem- bers of the Service or of other Government employees assigned abroad. Family members so employed shall serve under renewable limited appointments in the Service and may be paid either in accordance with the Foreign Service Schedule or a local compensation plan established under section 3968 of this title.