§ 3905. Personnel actions

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

1. 1980

   Pub. L. 96–465 title I § 105 · 94 Stat. 2071

   Enacted · 22 U.S.C. § 3905

   Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 105, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2077

   Source evidence

   Code source credit
   Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 105, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2077

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   Sec. 105. Merit Principles; Protections for Members of the Service; and Minority Recruitment.— (a) (1) All personnel actions with respect to career members and career candidates in the Service (including applicants for career candidate appointments) shall be made in accordance with merit principles. (2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term “personnel action” “Personnel action.” means— (A) any appointment, promotion, assignment (including assignment to any position or salary class), award of performance pay or special differential, within-class salary increase, separation, or performance evaluation, and (B) any decision, recommendation, examination, or ranking provided for under this Act which relates to any action referred to in subparagraph (A). (b) The Secretary shall administer the provisions of this Act and Regulations. shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to ensure that members of the Service, as well as applicants for appointments in the Service— (1) are free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicapping condition, marital status, or political affiliation, as prohibited under section 2302(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code; (2) are free from reprisal for— Information disclosure. (A) a disclosure of information by a member or applicant which the member or applicant reasonably believes evidences— (i) a violation of any law, rule, or regulation, or (ii) mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, if such disclosure is not specifically prohibited by law and if such information is not specifically required by Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense 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 (including 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 information which the member or applicant reasonably believes evidences— (i) a violation of any law, rule, or regulation, or (ii) mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety; (3) are free to submit to officials of the Service and the Department any report, evaluation, or recommendation, including the right to submit such report, evaluation, or recommenda-tion through a separate dissent channel, whether or not the views expressed therein are in accord with approved policy, unless the report, evaluation, or recommendation 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 prohibited by section 2302 of title 5, United States Code. (c) This section shall not be construed as authorizing the withholding of information from the Congress or the taking of any action against a member of the Service who discloses information to the Congress. (d) (1) The Secretary shall establish a minority recruitment program for the Service consistent with section 7201 of title 5, United States Code. (2) 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 Secretary under paragraph (1). Such report shall include any affirmative action plans submitted by the Secretary under section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16) and any data necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of the program under paragraph (1) for the preceding fiscal year, together with recommendations for administrative or legislative action the Secretary considers appropriate. (e) This section shall not be construed to extinguish or lessen any effort to achieve equal employment opportunity through affirmative action or any right or remedy available to any employee or applicant for employment in the civil service under— (1) section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16), prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; (2) sections 12 and 15 of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 631,633a), prohibiting discrimination on the basis of age; (3) section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)), prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex; (4) sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791, 794a), prohibiting discrimination on the basis of handicapping condition; or (5) any provision of law, rule, or regulation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of marital status or political affiliation.

2. 1987

   Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989

   Pub. L. 100–204 title I § 185(a) · 101 Stat. 1331

   Amended · 22 U.S.C. § 3905(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 Secretary under paragraph (1). Such report shall include any affirmative action plans submitted by the Secretary 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, together with recommendations for administrative or legislative action the Secretary considers appropriate.”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   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 Secretary under paragraph (1). Such report shall include any affirmative action plans submitted by the Secretary 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, together with recommendations for administrative or legislative action the Secretary considers appropriate.”

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (a) Report on Personnel Actions in the Foreign Service.— Section 105(d)(2) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3905(d)(2)) is amended to read as follows: “(2) The Secretary shall transmit, to the Chairman of the Committee Minorities. on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Department’s reports on its equal employment opportunity and affirmative action programs and its minority recruitment programs, which reports are required by law, regulation, or directive to be submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Each such report shall be transmitted to the Congress at least once annually, and shall be received by the Congress not later than 30 days after its original submission to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Office of Personnel Management.”.

3. 1990

   Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991

   Pub. L. 101–246 title I § 153(d) · 104 Stat. 15

   Inserted · 22 U.S.C. § 3905(b)(1)

   Pub. L. 101–246 inserted “geographic or educational affiliation within the United States,” after “marital status,”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 101–246 inserted “geographic or educational affiliation within the United States,” after “marital status,”.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (d) Prohibition on Discrimination Based on Geographic or Educational Affiliation.— Section 105(b)(1) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3905(b)(1)) is amended by inserting “geographic or educational affiliation within the United States,” after “marital status,”.

4. 2022

   Department of State Authorization Act of 2022

   Pub. L. 117–263 div. I title XCII § 9219(2) · 136 Stat. 2395

   Substituted · 22 U.S.C. § 3905(b)(1); 22 U.S.C. § 3905(e)(4)

   Pub. L. 117–263 substituted “disability” for “handicapping condition”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsecs. (b)(1), (e)(4). Pub. L. 117–263 substituted “disability” for “handicapping condition”.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (2) in section 105 (22 U.S.C. 3905), by striking “handicapping condition” each place such term appears and inserting “disability”;

4 of 4 references resolved to an enrolled provision