(4) Dissatisfaction with any matter subject to the control of the agency with respect to the grievant's physical working environment;

or

(5) Alleged inaccuracy, error, falsely prejudicial material in the grievant's official personnel file;

(6) Action alleged to be in the nature of reprisal or other interference with freedom of action in connection with an employee's participation under these grievance procedures;

(7) When the grievant is a former officer who was involuntarily retired pursuant to sections 633 and 634 of the Act within 6 years prior to December 1, 1975, "grievance" shall mean a complaint that such involuntary retirement violated applicable law or regulation effective at the time of the retirement or that the involuntary retirement was predicated directly upon material contained in the grievant's official personnel file alleged to be erroneous or falsely prejudicial in character; and

(8) When the grievant is a former officer or employee or a surviving spouse or dependent family member of a former officer or employee, "grievance" shall mean a complaint that an allowance or other financial benefit has been denied arbitrarily, capriciously or contrary to applicable law or regulation.

(d) Grievance does not include the following:

(1) Complaints against individual assignment or transfers of Foreign Service officers or employees, which are ordered in accordance with law and regulation (see also paragraph (c)(2) of this section);

(2) Judgments of Selection Boards rendered pursuant to section 623 of the Act, or of equivalent bodies, in ranking Foreign Service officers and employees for promotion on the basis of merit, or judgments in examinations prescribed by the Board of Examiners pursuant to section 516 or 517 of the Act (see also paragraph (c)(2) of this section);

(3) Termination of time-limited appointments pursuant to 22 U.S.C. 929 and 1008, and the pertinent regulations prescribed by the employing agency (see also paragraph (c)(2) of this section);

(4) Any complaints or appeals for which a specific statutory appeals procedure exists (see Appendix A for examples).

A grievance filed under these procedures may be based on matters for which there is a specific statutory appeals procedure which is applicable to the Foreign Service grievant. Should the jurisdiction of the Grievance Board over a specific grievance be placed into question on grounds that the basis of the grievance is not encompassed within the Board's authority (§ 16.1(d)(4) and Appendix A), the Board shall consult with the other statutory body concerned, transmitting the views of the parties concerned before determining whether it has jurisdiction.

(e) "Employee organization" means any employee organization accorded recognition as the excusive employee representative pursuant to Executive Order 11636 dated December 17, 1971.

(f) "Grievance Board" or "Board" means the full Foreign Service Grievance Board, or a Panel or member thereof, as appropriate.

(g) "Party" means the grievant or the Foreign Affairs agency having control over the act or condition forming the subject matter of the griev

ance.

(h) "Bureau" means equivalent organizational elements in State and USIA, and includes offices in AID. (i) "Days" means calendar days. § 16.2 General provisions.

(a) Statement of purpose. These regulations establish procedures as required by law to provide Foreign Service officers and employees (and their survivors) of the Foreign Affairs agencies, a grievance procedure to insure a full measure of due process, and to provide for the just consideration and resolution of grievances of such officers, employees, and survivors. No regulation promulgated in this part shall be interpreted or applied in any manner which would alter or abridge the provisions of the due process established by the Congress in Pub. L. 94-141, 22 U.S.C. 1037, section 691.

(b) Discussion of complaints. (1) Every effort should be made to settle

the Board, the candidate's name will be entered on the rank-order register for the class and functional specialty for which the candidate has been found qualified. The candidacy of anyone who is not recommended for appointment by the Final Review Panel shall be terminated and the candidate so informed.

(10) Foreign language requirement. All candidates who pass the oral examination will be required to take a subsequent test to measure their fluency in foreign languages or their aptitude for learning them. A candidate may be appointed without first having passed an examination in a foreign language, but the appointment will be subject to the condition that the newly appointed career candidate may not be converted to career Foreign Service officer status unless, within a specified period of time, adequate proficiency in a foreign language is achieved. For limitations on promotions see Volume 3 (Personnel), Foreign Affairs Manual, section 874.

(11) Certification for appointment(i) Departmental employees. A candidate who is a career employee of the Department, for whom a certification of need has been issued, will be certified by the Board of Examiners for appointment after satisfactorily completing all aspects of the examination process. The appointment certification will specify the class and salary for which the candidate has been found qualified.

(ii) Others. Other successful candidates will, after being approved by the board of Examiners, have their names placed on the rank-order register for the class and functional specialty for which they have been found qualified. A separate rank-order register may be established for candidates under the Mid-Level Affirmative Action Program. Appointments to available openings will be made from the registers in rank-order according to the needs of the Foreign Service.

(12) Termination of eligibility. Candidates who have qualified but have not been appointed because of lack of openings will be removed from the rank-order register 18 months after the date of placement on the rankorder register. The Board of Examin

ers may extend the eligibility period when such extension is, in its judg ment, justified in the interests of the Foreign Service.

(Secs. 206(a) and 301(b), Foreign Service Act of 1980 (secs. 206(a) and 301(b), Pub. L. 96465, 94 Stat. 2079 and 2083 (22 U.S.C. 3926 and 3941)))

[48 FR 19702, May 2, 1983]

§ 11.20

Foreign Service specialist career candidate appointments.

(a) General considerations. (1) Section 303 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) authorizes the appointment of members of the Service (other than Presidential appointments).

(2) Section 306 of the Act provides that, before receiving a career appointment in the Foreign Service, an individual shall first serve under a limited appointment for a trial period of service as a career candidate.

(3) This section governs the appointment by the Department of State of Foreign Service specialist career candidates to classes FS-1 and below. Specialist candidates comprise all candidates for career appointment in all occupational categories other than generalists (that is, administrative, consular, economic, political, and program direction), who are governed by the regulations respecting Foreign Service officer career candidates. The appointment of all Senior Foreign Service career candidates regardless of occupational category is governed by § 11.30 (to be supplied). Regulations governing trial service and tenuring of specialist candidates are found in Volume 3 (Personnel), Foreign Affairs Manual, section 580.

(4) Veterans' preference shall apply to the selection and appointment of Foreign Service specialist career candidates.

(b) Specialist career candidate appointments—(1) Certification of need. Candidates for appointment as specialist career candidates must be worldwide available and must have a professional or a functional skill for which there is a continuing need in the Foreign Service. Before an application can be processed, the Director General of the Foreign Service must certify that

there is a need for the applicant as a career candidate in the specialist cateIgory at or above the proposed class of appointment. No applicant shall be appointed at a class level for which there is no certified need. This individual certification of need is not required for those specialist occupations which the Director General determines in advance to be shortage or continuous recruitment categories, and for which the Director General has certified the need for a specific number of appointments at given levels. Such appointments, including an appointment of an individual who is the employee of any agency, may not exceed 5 years in duiration, and may not be renewed or extended beyond 5 years. A specialist 1 candidate denied tenure under Volume 13 (Personnel), Foreign Affairs Manual, 1 section 580, may not be reappointed as a career candidate in the same occupational category.

(2) Eligibility. An applicant must be a citizen of the United States and at #least 20 years of age. The minimum age for appointment as a career candidate is 21. All career candidate appointments shall be made before the I candidate's 60th birthday. The maximum age for appointment under the program is based on the requirement that all career candidates shall be able to (i) complete at least two full tours of duty, exclusive of orientation and training, (ii) complete the requisite eligibility period for tenure consideration, and (iii) complete the requisite eligibility period to receive retirement benefits, prior to reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65 prescribed by the Act.

(3) Selection and initial screening. Specialist career candidates will be selected on the basis of education, experience, suitability, performance potential, and physical fitness for worldwide service. Applicants normally will be given personal interviews and will be subject to such written, oral, physical, foreign language, and other examinations as may be prescribed by the Board of Examiners for the Foreign Service and administered by the Office of Recruitment, Examination, and Employment (PER/REE). The Board of Examiners will identify and/ or approve the knowledge, skills, abili

ties, and personal characteristics required to perform the tasks and duties of Foreign Service specialists in each functional field. PER/REE will screen applications for appointment as Foreign Service specialist career candidates under approved criteria and select those who meet the requirements for further processing under these regulations.

(4) Oral Examination. Candidates selected through the initial screening will be eligible for an oral examination unless they are candidates for appointment in occupational categories for which the oral examination may be waived by the Director General. This waiver normally will apply only to continuous-recruitment categories and to appointments below the FS-6 level, and where such waivers occur, a thorough oral interview will be conducted. The oral examination will be given by a panel of deputy examiners, at least one of whom will be a career Foreign Service specialist proficent in the functional field for which the candidate is being tested. The examination may include a writing sample. Candidates taking the oral examination will be graded numerically according to standards set by the Board of Examiners. The candidacy of anyone whose score is at or above the passing level set by the Board will be continued. The candidacy of anyone whose score is below the passing level will be terminated and may not be considered again for 1 year.

(5) Background investigation. Candidates who have passed the oral examination, and candidates who have passed the initial screening if the oral examination has been waived, will be eligible for selection for the background investigation to determine their suitability for appointment to the Foreign Service.

(6) Medical examination. Such candidates and their dependents will be eligible for selection for the medical examination. The medical examination shall be conducted to determine the candidate's physical fitness to perform the duties of a Foreign Service specialist on a world-wide basis and, for candidates and dependents, to determine the presence of any physical, neurological, or mental condition of

such a nature as to make it unlikely that they would be able to function on a world-wide basis.

(7) Final review panel. After the results of the medical examination and background investigation have been received, a Final Review Panel, consisting of two or more deputy examiners of the Board of Examiners, or by another appropriate panel appointed for the purpose by the Director of PER/REE, will review and grade the candidate's entire file. Candidates approved by the Final Review Panel will have their names placed on a rankorder register for the functional specialty for which they are qualified. Candidates will remain eligible for appointment for 18 months from the date of placement on the rank-order register. The Board of Examiners may extend this eligibility period when such extension is, in its judgment, justified in the interests of the Foreign Service. The candidacy of anyone who is not recommended for appointment by the Final Review Board shall be terminated and the candidate so informed.

(c) Limited

non-career appointments. Other Foreign Service specialist appointments may be made on a limited non-career basis. Before an application for a limited non-career appointment can be processed, the Director General of the Foreign Service must certify that there is a need for the applicant. Such limited specialists must serve overseas, and they will be subject to the same conditions as those outlined in these regulations for career candidates, with the exception that the maximum age of 59 does not apply to such appointments. However, because members of the Foreign Service generally are subject to the mandatory retirement age of 65 under section 812 of the Act, limited non-career appointments normally will not extend beyond the appointee's 65th birthday. Applicants for limited noncareer appointments will be subject to the same screening, medical examination, background investigation, and final review process required of career candidates, but normally they will not be subject to a written or oral examination. Their appointments will normally be limited to the duration of the

specific assignment for which they are to be hired, may not exceed 5 years in duration, and may not be renewed or extended beyond 5 years. Ordinarily, no limited non-career appointee will be reappointed until at least 1 year has elapsed since the expiration of a previous appointment. However, earlier reappointment may be granted in cases of special need, provided the exclusive employee representative is advised in advance and is afforded an opportunity to comment. Prior to the expiration of their limited appointments, if otherwise eligible, non-career appointees may compete for career candidate status by qualifying at that time for and taking the examinations required of career candidates. If successful, their names would be entered on the rank-order register for their functional specialty. If appointed as career candidates, the length of service under their previous limited noncareer appointments may be counted as part of the trial period of service prescribed before a candidate can receive a career appointment.

(Secs. 206(a) and 301(b), Foreign Service Act of 1980 (secs. 206(a) and 301(b), Pub. L. 96465, 94 Stat. 2079 and 2083 (22 U.S.C. 3926 and 3941)))

[48 FR 19704, May 2, 1983]

§ 11.30

Senior Foreign Service officer career candidate and limited noncareer appointments.

(a) General considerations. (1) Career officers at the Senior Level normally shall be appointed as the result of promotion of Mid-Level career officers. Where the needs of the Foreign Service at the Senior Level cannot otherwise be met by this approach, limited appointments may by granted to applicants as Senior Career Candidates or as limited noncareer appointees in accordance with these regulations. However, as required by section 305(b) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (hereinafter referred to as the Act), but qualified by section 305(b)(1) and (2) and section 2403(c) of the Act, the limited appointment of an individual in the Senior Foreign Service shall not cause the number of members of the Senior Foreign Service serving under limited ap

pointments to exceed 5 percent of the total members of the Senior Foreign Service.

(2) Successful applicants under the Senior Career Candidate Program will be appointed to Career Candidate status for a period not to exceed 5 years. Such limited Career Candidate appointments may not be renewed or extended beyond 5 years.

(3) Under section 306 of the Act, Senior Career Candidates may be found qualified to become career members of the Senior Foreign Service. Those who are not found to be so qualified prior to the expiration of their limited appointments will be separated from the Career Candidate Program no later than the expiration date of their appointments. Separated candidates who originally were employees of a Federal department or agency, and who were appointed to the Senior Foreign Service with the consent of the head of that department agency, will be entitled to reemployment rights in that department or agency in accordance with section 310 of the Act and section 3597 of title 5, United States Code.

or

(4) The following regulations shall be utilized in conjunction with section 593, Volume 3, Foreign Affairs Manual ("Senior

Foreign Service Officer Career Candidate Program"). (Also see Foreign Affairs Manual Circulars No. 8 [applicable to the Department of State only] and No. 9 [applicable to the Departments of State, Agriculture, and Commerce, the Agency for International Development, and the United States Information Agency], dated March 6, 1981.)

(b) Senior Career Candidate appointments-(1) Eligibility requirements. Senior Career Candidates must meet the following eligibility requirements:

(i) Citizenship. Each person appointed as a Senior Career Candidate must be a citizen of the United States.

(ii) Age. All career candidate appointments shall be made before the candidate's 60th birthday. Appointments by the United States Information Agency shall be made before the candidate's 58th birthday. The maximum age for appointment under this program is based on the requirement

that all career candidates shall be able to: (A) Complete at least two full tours of duty, exclusive of orientation and training; (B) complete the requisite eligibility period for tenure consideration and (C) complete the requisite eligibility period to receive retirement benefits, prior to reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65 prescribed by the Act.

(iii) Service. (A) On the date of application, an applicant must have completed a minimum of 15 years of professional work experience, including at least 5 years of service in a position of responsibility in a Federal Government agency or agencies or elsewhere equivalent to that of a Mid-Level Foreign Service officer (classes FS-1 through FS-3). The duties and responsibilities of the position occupied by the applicant must have been similar to or closely related to that of a Foreign Service officer in terms of knowledge, skills, abilities, and overseas work experience. In addition, an applicant must currently be in, or have been in, a position comparable to a Foreign Service officer of class 1 (FS1), or higher.

(B) Applicants from outside the Federal Government, and Federal employees who at the time of application lack the 15 years of professional work experience or the 5 years of service in a position of responsibility as defined in the preceding paragraph, may, however, be considered if they are found to possess a combination of educational background, professional work experience, and skills needed by the Foreign Service at the Senior Level in employment categories which normally are not staffed by promotion of Mid-Level career officers.

(C) Non-career members of the Senior Foreign Service of a Federal Government department or agency also may apply for the Senior Career Candidate Program if they meet the eligibility requirements for the program.

(iv) Certification of need. Before an application can be processed, the Director of Personnel of the foreign affairs agency concerned must certify that there is a need for the applicant as a Senior Career Candidate based upon (A) the projections of personnel

30-075 0-89--4