The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2017

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2017 53 AFSA NEWS able positions for which the nominee is eligible. The following require- ments apply to nominations: 1. No member may nomi- nate more than one person for each officer position or more than the number of rep- resentatives established for each constituency. No mem- ber’s name may appear on the ballot for more than one position. Each nomination must indicate the position for which the person is being nominated. A nominee may run for a position outside of his or her constituency (e.g., a retiree position while on active duty) as long as the nominee will be a member of that constituency by the time the new Governing Board takes office on July 15. 2. All nominations must be submitted by completing the nomination form on the AFSA website: www.afsa.org/ nominationform. To be valid, they must, without exception, be received no later than 5 p.m. on February 1, 2017. 3. Nominations must be accompanied by evidence of eligibility (i.e., no conflict of interest as described below). 4. Nominations may be submitted individually or in slates. To qualify as a slate, a proposed slate must have a minimum of four candidates from at least two constituen- cies. Slate designations will be noted on the ballot. Qualifications for Govern- ing Board Membership. Indi- viduals meeting the following qualifications are eligible for nomination to one of the available positions: 1. The individual must be an AFSA regular member in good standing by Feb. 1, 2017, and remain in good standing through the election process and, if elected, for his or her term of office. 2. The individual must not have a conflict of interest as defined in Section 1017(e) of the Foreign Service Act. Please see the “Conflicts of Interest” section below for more information. 3. The individual must be resident in the Washing- ton, D.C., area on July 15 as described in Article V, Sec- tion 8 of the AFSA Bylaws. Conflicts of Interest. Sec- tion 1017(e) of the Foreign Service Act restricts employ- ees serving in certain posi- tions within their agencies from participating in labor- management issues while serving on the Governing Board. Management officials and confidential employees, as well as those in positions that may raise or appear to raise a conflict of interest (as defined below) when the new Governing Board takes office on July 15, may not participate in Governing Board discussions, delibera- tions or decisions relating to labor-management issues. They may participate in AFSA Board activities that do not relate to labor-management issues. The Foreign Service Act also imposes a two-year pre- and post-AFSA “cooling off” period on employees who occupied or will occupy posi- tions within their agency that involve labor-management relations or the formulation of personnel policies and programs of a foreign affairs agency. a. Section 1017(e) of the Act, 22 USC 4117(e) states: “Participation in labor organi- zations restricted. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this sub- chapter—(A) participation in the management of a labor organization for purposes of collective bargaining or acting as a representative of a labor organization for such purposes is prohibited under this subchapter: (i) on the part of any management offi- cial or confidential employee; (ii) on the part of any individual who has served as a management official or confidential employee during the preceding two years; or (iii) on the part of any other employee if the participa- tion or activity would result in a conflict of interest or apparent conflict of inter- est or would otherwise be incompatible with law or with the official functions of such employee, and—(B) service as a management official or confidential employee is prohibited on the part of any individual having participated in the management of a labor organization for purposes of collective bargaining or hav- ing acted as a representative of a labor organization during the preceding two years. (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(A)(ii) and para- graph (1)(B), the term “man- agement official” does not include: (A) any chief of mis- sion; (B) any principal officer or deputy principal officer; (C) any administrative or personnel officer abroad; or (D) any individual described in section 4102(12)(B), (C), or (D) of this title who is not involved in the administration of this subchapter or in the formulation of the personnel policies and programs of the Department.” b. Section 1002 (12), 22 USC 4102(12) of the For- eign Service Act defines a management official as “an individual who: is a chief of mission or principal offi- cer; occupies a position of comparable importance to chief of mission or principal officer; is serving as a deputy to the foregoing positions; is assigned to the Office of the Inspector General; or is engaged in labor-manage- ment relations or the formu- lation of personnel policies and programs of a foreign affairs agency.” c. Section 1002 (6), 22 USC 4102(6) of the Act defines a confidential employee as “an employee who acts in a confidential capacity with respect to an individual who formulates or effectuates management policies in labor-manage- ment relations.” Employees who may have a conflict of interest or poten- tial conflict of interest include those who are “engaged in personnel work in other than a purely clerical capacity” (for example, employees assigned to non-clerical posi-