The Foreign Service Journal, March 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2013 47 2012 AFSA ANNUAL REPORT AFSA NEWS And Behind the Scenes Progress Defense and Development Review, State initiated a program to provide overseas opportunities for Civil Service employees to develop knowl- edge that would improve their understanding of our realities when they returned to positions in Washington. This high QDDR priority, still in its pilot phase, has obvious potential benefits for State’s mission. AFSA negotiated clear definitions of purpose and scope (limiting the number of encumbered positions to 20 at any time), and a reciprocal element that would enable Foreign Service members to fill selected Civil Service positions for state- side assignments. Following Rules One of AFSA’s most impor- tant functions is to ensure that the department follows its own rules with regard to due process in disciplin- ary and security clearance cases. AFSA won a significant victory for an FS author and blogger whose work was dis- tasteful to many, but who had complied with regulations in clearing his book and argued that regulations on blogging were unclear. The case led to a comprehensive review of relevant Foreign Affairs Man- ual regulations, and provided AFSA with the opportunity to use the process to clarify the rights of FS bloggers, writers and users of social media. This is an ongoing effort. Less visibly, we weighed in on the case of an FS member accused of inappropriate conduct under disputed cir- cumstances while traveling. The Department of Justice had sought to extend U.S. jurisdiction to this case by improperly applying a law that should apply only to active-duty military person- nel. Concerned about the precedential implications of expanding a military law to Foreign Service civilians, AFSA supported the efforts of the private attorney involved, and DOJ backed off. STOCK Act The STOCK Act imposed a requirement that personal information be published online, threatening both the personal security of FS employees and the national security of the United States. Working with the Senior Executive Association and other affected groups, we have, thus far, achieved delays in implementation while these issues can be addressed. In addition, members brought to our attention a number of forms and other efforts to collect information, which did not comply with rules intended to protect privacy and reduce the risk of information breaches. We were successful in getting a number of improper forms recalled, changed or more properly issued, and worked with the bureaus involved to increase awareness of the issues. Taping Interviews When a DS office in Wash- ington sought to introduce audio- and videotaping of interviews during its investi- gations, AFSA questioned the initiative, and asked whether interviews that occurred overseas or contained clas- sified information would be taped as well. We asked that DS furnish employees with a copy of the tape immediately after the interview. DS stated that, at present, it did not plan to record inter- views conducted overseas or containing classified infor- mation. It agreed to initiate the use of a standardized form to obtain informed con- sent before audio and video recording of any interview takes place, but stated that the employee would not be able to obtain a copy of the recordings until the investi- gation is completed, and the entire report of investigation is forwarded to the employee. AFSA continues to have con- cerns about this practice and has updated its guidance to employees under investiga- tion to address it. Security Clearances On the security clearance front, we engaged in con- structive discussions which appear to have influenced a number of promising trends. Significantly, while we some- times disagreed with DS over other aspects of cases, in we did not see any new suspen- sion or revocation cases initiated that did not have an understandable nexus to the government-wide standards. In 2012, HR and DS initiated a more regular and fuller exchange of informa- tion regarding the status of individual cases, which we hope will reduce processing times. Our suggestions for stronger quality control are being considered, and we are hopeful the department will implement at least those measures used by other agencies with large security clearance workloads. Benghazi AFSA attorneys advised and represented employees before the Benghazi Account- ability Review Board. We are monitoring implementation of the board’s recommenda- tions. n