22 U.S.C. § 4156 — Preservation of status and benefits

Page 1556 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 4156 not later than 120 days after notice of such des- ignation, elect— (1) to accept conversion to the Foreign Serv- ice, in which case such employee shall be con- verted in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c); or (2) to decline conversion to the Foreign Service and have the provisions of subsection (d) apply. (c) Recommendations for appointment (1) The Secretary of Agriculture shall rec- ommend to the President for appointment to the appropriate class (as determined under para- graph (2)), by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, those employees who elect conver- sion under subsection (a)(1). (2) The Secretary of Agriculture shall appoint as Foreign Service personnel those employees who elect to accept conversion and who are not eligible for appointment under paragraph (1). (d) Results of declining to convert Any employee who declines conversion under subsection (b)(2) shall for so long as that em- ployee continues to hold the designated position be deemed to be a member of the Foreign Serv- ice for purposes of allowances, differentials, and similar benefits (as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture). (Pub. L. 96–465, title II, § 2105, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2150.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION In subsec. (a), ‘‘February 15, 1981’’ substituted for ‘‘the effective date of this Act’’ pursuant to section 2403 of Pub. L. 96–465, set out as an Effective Date note under section 3901 of this title. § 4156. Preservation of status and benefits (a) Conversion to class, grade, or step cor- responding to level prior to conversion; re- duction in position or salary; conversion from Foreign Service under section 4154 of this title (1) Every individual who is converted under this subchapter shall be converted to the class or grade and pay rate that most closely cor- responds to the class or grade and step at which the individual was serving immediately before conversion. No conversion under this subchapter shall cause any individual to incur a reduction in his or her class, grade, or basic rate of salary. (2) An individual converted under section 4154 of this title to a position in the competitive service shall be entitled to have that position, or any other position to which the individual is subsequently assigned (other than at the request of the individual), be considered for all purposes as at the grade which corresponds to the class in which the individual served immediately before conversion so long as the individual continues to hold that position. (b) Participation in Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System (1) Any participant in the Foreign Service Re- tirement and Disability System who would, but for this paragraph, participate in the Civil Serv- ice Retirement and Disability System by virtue of conversion under this subchapter shall re- main a participant in the Foreign Service Re- tirement and Disability System for 120 days after participation in the Foreign Service Re- tirement and Disability System would otherwise cease. During such 120-day period, the individual may elect in writing to continue to participate in the Foreign Service Retirement and Dis- ability System instead of the Civil Service Re- tirement and Disability System so long as he or she is employed in an agency which is author- ized to utilize the Foreign Service personnel sys- tem. If such an election is not made, the indi- vidual shall then be covered by the Civil Service Retirement and Disability System and contribu- tions made by the participant to the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund shall be transferred to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund. (2) Any Foreign Service Reserve officer with limited tenure who has reemployment rights to a personnel category in the Foreign Service in which he or she would be a participant in the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Sys- tem and who would, but for this paragraph, con- tinue to participate in the Civil Service Retire- ment and Disability System by virtue of conver- sion under section 4154 of this title may elect, during the 120-day period beginning on the date of such conversion, to become a participant in the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System so long as he or she is employed in an agency which is authorized to utilize the For- eign Service personnel system. If such an elec- tion is made, the individual shall be transferred to the Foreign Service Retirement and Dis- ability System and contributions made by that individual to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund shall be transferred to the For- eign Service Retirement and Disability Fund. (c) Conversion to type of appointment cor- responding in tenure to that prior to conver- sion Individuals who are converted under this sub- chapter shall be converted to the type of ap- pointment which corresponds most closely in tenure to the type of appointment under which they were serving immediately prior to such conversion, except that this subchapter shall not operate to extend the duration of any lim- ited appointment or previously applicable time in class. (d) Reappointment resulting from enactment of Foreign Service Act of 1980 Any individual who on February 15, 1981, is serving— (1) under an appointment in the Foreign Service, or (2) in any other office or position continued by this chapter, may continue to serve under such appointment, subject to the provisions of this chapter, and need not be reappointed by virtue of the enactment of this chapter. (e) Deferment of retirement provisions Any individual in the Foreign Service— (1) who is serving under a career appoint- ment on October 17, 1980, and (2) who was not subject to section 633(a)(2) of the Foreign Service Act of 1946 immediately before February 15, 1981, Page 1557 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 4171 may not be retired under section 4008 of this title until 10 years after February 15, 1981, or when such individual first becomes eligible for an immediate annuity under subchapter VIII of this chapter, whichever occurs first. (Pub. L. 96–465, title II, § 2106, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2151.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (d), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 96–465, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2071, known as the Foreign Service Act of 1980, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3901 of this title and Tables. Section 633(a)(2) of the Foreign Service Act of 1946, referred to in subsec. (e)(2), which was classified to sec- tion 1003(a)(2) of this title, was repealed by Pub. L. 96–465, title II, § 2205(1), Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2159. CODIFICATION In subsecs. (d) and (e), ‘‘February 15, 1981’’ substituted for ‘‘the effective date of this Act’’ pursuant to section 2403 of Pub. L. 96–465, set out as an Effective Date note under section 3901 of this title. § 4157. Regulations Under the direction of the President, the Sec- retary shall prescribe regulations for the imple- mentation of this subchapter. (Pub. L. 96–465, title II, § 2107, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2152.) Executive Documents DELEGATION OF FUNCTIONS Authority of President under this section to extent necessary to implement provisions of section 4151 of this title, relating to pay and benefits pending conver- sion, delegated to Secretary of State, see section 5 of Ex. Ord. No. 12293, Feb. 23, 1981, 46 F.R. 13969, set out as a note under section 3901 of this title. § 4158. Authority of other agencies The heads of agencies other than the Depart- ment of State which utilize the Foreign Service personnel system shall perform functions under this subchapter in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of State under sec- tion 4157 of this title. Such agency heads shall consult with the Secretary of State in the exer- cise of such functions. (Pub. L. 96–465, title II, § 2108, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2152.) § 4159. Survivor benefits for certain former spouses (a) Eligible participants; election of benefits Any participant or former participant in the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Sys- tem who on February 15, 1981, has a former spouse may, by a spousal agreement, elect to re- ceive a reduced annuity and provide a survivor annuity for such former spouse under section 4054(b) of this title. (b) Time of election (1) If the participant or former participant has not retired under such system on or before Feb- ruary 15, 1981, an election under this section may be made at any time before retirement. (2) If the participant or former participant has retired under such system on or before February 15, 1981, an election under this section may be made within such period after February 15, 1981, as the Secretary of State may prescribe. (3) For purposes of applying subchapter VIII of this chapter, any such election shall be treated the same as if it were a spousal agreement under section 4060(b)(1) of this title. (c) Portion of annuity as basis for benefits An election under this section may provide for a survivor benefit based on all or any portion of that part of the annuity of the participant which is not designated or committed as a base for survivor benefits for a spouse or any other former spouse of the participant. The partici- pant and his or her spouse may make an election under section 4046(b)(1)(B) of this title prior to the time of retirement for the purpose of allow- ing an election to be made under this section. (d) Amount of reduction; effective date The amount of the reduction in the partici- pant’s annuity shall be determined in accord- ance with section 4046(b)(2) of this title. Such re- duction shall be effective as of— (1) the commencing date of the participant’s annuity, in the case of an election under sub- section (b)(1), or (2) February 15, 1981, in the case of an elec- tion under subsection (b)(2). (e) Definitions For purposes of this section, the terms ‘‘former spouse’’, ‘‘participant’’, and ‘‘spousal agreement’’ have the meanings given such terms in sections 4043 and 4044 of this title. (Pub. L. 96–465, title II, § 2109, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2152.) SUBCHAPTER XIII—MISCELLANEOUS § 4171. Model foreign language competence posts (a) Designation of posts; time of designation and implementation; determination of com- petency standards In order to carry out the purposes of section 4022 of this title and to help ascertain the rela- tionship between foreign language competence and the effectiveness of representation of the United States abroad, the Secretary of State shall designate as model foreign language com- petence posts at least two Foreign Service posts in countries where English is not the common language. Such designation shall be made no later than October 1, 1981, and shall be imple- mented so that no later than October 1, 1983, each Government employee permanently as- signed to those posts shall possess an appro- priate level of competence in the language com- mon to the country where the post is located. The Secretary of State shall determine appro- priate levels of language competence for em- ployees assigned to those posts by reference to the nature of their functions and the standards employed by the George P. Shultz National For- eign Affairs Training Center.