[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 22, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 22CFR16.1]

[Page 85-86]
 
                       TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS
 
                     CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF STATE
 
PART 16--FOREIGN SERVICE GRIEVANCE SYSTEM--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 16.1  Definitions.

    (a) Act means the Foreign Service Act of 1946, as amended.
    (b) Grievant means any officer or employee of the Service who is a 
citizen of the United States; or for purposes of paragraphs (c) (7) and 
(8) of this section, a former officer or employee of the Service; or in 
the case of death of the officer or employee, a surviving spouse or 
dependent family member of the officer or employee.
    (c) Grievance means any act or condition subject to the control of 
the Foreign Affairs agencies (the Department of State, the Agency for 
International Development, or the U.S. Information Agency) which is 
alleged to deprive the grievant of a right or benefit authorized by law 
or regulation or is otherwise a source of concern or dissatisfaction to 
the grievant, including, but not limited to the following:
    (1) Complaints against separation of an officer or employee 
allegedly contrary to law or regulation or predicated upon alleged 
inaccuracy (including inaccuracy resulting from omission or any relevant 
and material document), error, or falsely prejudicial character of any 
part of the grievant's official personnel record;
    (2) Other alleged violation, misinterpretation, or misapplication of 
applicable law, regulation, or published policy affecting the terms and 
conditions of the grievant's employment or career status;
    (3) Allegedly wrongful disciplinary action against an employee 
constituting a reprimand or suspension from official duties;
    (4) Dissatisfaction with any matter subject to the control of the 
agency with respect to the grievant's physical working environment;
    (5) Alleged inaccuracy, error, or 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 (Sec. 16.1(d)(4) and Appendix A), the Board shall 
consult with the other statutory body concerned, transmitting the views 
of the

[[Page 86]]

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 
grievance.
    (h) Bureau means equivalent organizational elements in State and 
USIA, and includes offices in AID.
    (i) Days means calendar days.