The Foreign Service Journal, January 2011

J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 1 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 55 A F S A N E W S ians from different agencies working in zones of armed conflict. Q: Do you see a need for OPM to have a better understanding of the Foreign Ser- vice’s culture? A: Yes. I admire the traditions and esprit de corps of the Foreign Service. Your system and culture provide many useful contrasts with the Civil Service system. We’ve cast a wide net as we’ve looked for new ideas to revitalize our work force, and the Foreign Service sys- tem has influenced our thinking. For- eign Service members and their families set a sterling example of the dedication and commitment we’re looking for. Q: Do you have regular conversations with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Deputy Secretary Jack Lew or other senior management officials at State and USAID? A: Secretary Clinton and I worked together on extending benefits to do- mestic partners of Foreign Service members and the Civil Service as well. I look forward to continuing the conver- sation about improving our personnel policies and ensuring that we’re provid- ing the benefits that both Foreign Serv- ice and Civil Service workers want and need. Jack Lew is a friend, and we talk from time to time. I’m thrilled and happy for him for his appointment to the Office of Management and Budget. I know he will be deeply missed at State, and I look forward to working with his successor. I alsomeet regularly with Director Gen- eral Nancy Powell and her deputies and interact with Under Secretary of State Pat Kennedy. Q: Would you find it useful when you travel overseas to have opportunities to sit down with Foreign Service employees to hear from them directly about the cir- cumstances and challenges they face? Or have you already done that? A: Yes, I would love to sit down with FS members at post, although I haven’t had the pleasure to do so yet. I’ve vis- ited federal workers around the country to learn how OPM can better serve them, and I’d like to do the same with government workers abroad. That’s the best way to learn more about the obsta- cles they face and the resources they need to carry out their mission on be- half of the American people. Q: Do you think that the Foreign Serv- ice rank-in-person system might be a model for some or all of the Civil Service or other parts of the federal work force? If so, what are the main reasons? If not, why not? A: We looked at your rank-in-per- son system, and it has many positive qualities. However, we may not have the need for such a system governmen- twide, and we note it takes a lot of sen- ior staff time to run that system. While it enhances a smaller work force with similar functions at numerous locations worldwide, like the Foreign Service, it would be very difficult and expensive to apply to the full two-million-person Civil Service. Q: What are your feelings about cur- rent benefits for paid maternity and pa- ternity leave for federal employees? The Foreign Service is particularly interested in this, as are many junior-level federal employees, because they have not accrued much annual or sick leave and can’t af- ford Leave without Pay under the Family Medical Leave Act. Currently, employees must use annual and sick leave to cover maternity leave because an expectant mother who resides in the developing world must leave post six weeks before her due date and cannot return until six weeks afterward. A: The Obama admin- istration supports paid maternity and paternity leave. Supporting families strengthens our commu- nities and our nation. It’s also good business. Many leading private-sector em- ployers provide this benefit because it helps them keep some of their best workers. While we don’t have separate parental leave, we do have other options. In addition to sick leave, which can build up over the years, most em- ployees also earn 13 to 26 personal and vacation days each year, and they may carry up to six weeks of annual leave into the next year. We also have flexible work schedules and telework options. While these are not best for the first few weeks when a newborn requires round-the-clock at- tention, they can help a new parent re- turn to the work force sooner and still spend a lot of time with their babies. I am concerned for the new employ- ees who do not have the opportunity to accrue sufficient leave to cover those first few weeks — the time they need to be the best new parents they can be. There are informal leave donation pro- grams that help new employees in this situation. There have also been past ex- plorations of short-term disability in- surance that employees would pay for that could be used to address this cir- cumstance. Q: As you know, the Civil Service and Foreign Service have separate retirement systems that are governed by USCTitles 5 and 22, respectively. The systems conform in large part, but there are differences that reflect the special nature of the Foreign Service; for example, in salary limitations on re-employed annuitants. How does OPM take into consideration these differ- ences when formulating regulations and legislative proposals? OPM Director John Berry poses with members of a Canadian del- egation to Washington, D.C. on Nov. 9, 2010. OPM Dir. Berry • Continued from page 49 Continued on page 62 TIMOTHY GRANT