The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2021

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021 57 AFSA NEWS General; or is engaged in labor-management relations or the formulation of person- nel 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 potential conflict of interest include those who are “engaged in per- sonnel work in other than a purely clerical capacity” (for example, employees assigned to non-clerical positions within the Global Talent Management Bureau) and “employees engaged in criminal or national secu- rity investigations of other employees or who audit the work of individuals to ensure that their functions are discharged honestly and with integrity” (such as employees assigned to DS investigative units or those assigned to the OIG). See Section 1012(1) and (2), 22 USC 4112(1) and (2) of the Foreign Service Act. As discussed above, the Foreign Service Act pre- cludes these categories of individuals from participat- ing in labor-management issues while serving on the Governing Board. The Foreign Service Act also imposes a two-year pre- and post- “cooling- off period” that restricts the movement of Foreign Service employees between certain positions on the AFSA Governing Board and certain Washington-based positions. Pre-AFSA restrictions: Any individual who has served: 1) in a management position in Washington in which he or she has engaged in labor- management relations or the formulation of personnel policies and programs; or 2) as a confidential employee to one of these management officials within two years prior to taking office in AFSA, is precluded from participat- ing in labor-management issues while serving on the Governing Board. Post-AFSA restrictions: Employees who have partici- pated in collective bargain- ing while serving on the AFSA Governing Board may not serve: 1) in a manage- ment position in Washington that involves labor-man- agement relations or the formulation of personnel policies and programs; or 2) as a confidential employee to such management posi- tions, for two years after leaving AFSA. Members should consider these restrictions before decid- ing whether to run for AFSA Governing Board positions covered by these restric- tions. Please direct questions regarding this issue to Sha- ron Papp, General Counsel, by email: PappS@state.gov. All other election-related queries should be addressed to the Committee on Elec- tions by email at election@ afsa.org . In addition to the above, due to AFSA efforts to educate Congress on issues related to Foreign Service conditions of employment, legislative proposals and other issues directly impact- ing the Foreign Service, employees serving in con- gressional fellowships may not serve on the AFSA Gov- erning Board. A conflict or potential conflict of interest exists between their position in AFSA and their official duties. AFSA members serv- ing as congressional fellows may run for the AFSA Gov- erning Board provided their fellowship ends before the incoming board takes office on July 15, 2021. Accepting a Nomination 1. Following receipt of nominations, an autho- rized representative of the Committee on Elections will promptly communicate with each nominee (exclud- ing members who nominate themselves) to confirm their willingness to be a candidate. Nominees must confirm their acceptance in writing (using the same addresses indi- cated above under “Nomi- nating Candidates”) to the Committee on Elections no later than 5 p.m. EST on Feb. 19, 2021. Any nominee whose written acceptance of nomi- nation is not received by the Committee on Elections by this time will be considered to have declined candidacy. 2. All candidates accept- ing a nomination must identify the position or positions they have filled for the past two years prior to accepting the nomination. All candidates not seeking a full-time AFSA position (President, State VP, USAID VP, FCS VP, FAS VP) must also identify the agency position they will be serv- ing in beginning on July 15, 2021, when the Board takes office. This information is necessary to ensure compli- ance with Section 1017(e) of the Foreign Service Act. Campaigning 1. Campaign State- ments. All candidates will be given the opportunity to submit campaign statements for dissemination to AFSA members with the election ballots. Further information regarding such statements and editorial deadlines will be contained in the “Instruc- tions to Candidates,” which will be posted by the Com- mittee on Elections at www. afsa.org/elections no later than Jan. 15, 2021. 2. Supplementary Statements. Should candidates wish to mail supplementary statements to the member- ship, AFSA will make its membership mailing list or address labels available to the candidate upon request and at their expense. Further information on this and other campaign proce- dures will be included in the “Instructions to Candidates” mentioned above. Continued on page 58