The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2023

80 JULY-AUGUST 2023 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA REPORT T he 2021-2023 Governing Board term for State VP TomYazdgerdi was a busy one during which AFSA continued to help members both collectively and individually. One of the biggest challenges for members was the introduction of a new payroll system that caused significant errors in pay, differentials, leave hours, and Thrift Savings Plan disbursements, among other problems. We responded immediately to the mounting frustra- tion of our members, many of whom had to wait months for their issues to be resolved amid a less-than-respon- sive customer service process. Through tireless advo- cacy, we insisted that the State Department pay interest on back pay and devote more resources and people to resolve the thousands of complaints it received. AFSA was instrumental in supporting our members and all State employees suffering fromAnomalous Health Incidents (AHIs) to access the treatment and care they needed. In June 2022, when the rule was published implementing the HAVANAAct (HA)—legisla- tion instigated by AFSA that guarantees benefits to those with AHIs—we successfully pushed for a change that expanded the definition of “medical provider” so that more employees could be included as beneficiaries. As a result, we saw a high number of HA requests accepted; but we continue to press for an explanation on those relatively few, but otherwise eligible, AHI cases that were denied relief. After lobbying over the past two years for expansion of 3 FAM (Foreign Affairs Manual) 3660 benefits to include cases occurring in countries beyond Cuba and China, the department has agreed to augment the list—a victory for consistent treatment of all AHI cases. This will allow those who have successfully filed a workers’ compensation claim to receive funds. In another big win, we recently learned that AHI cases included those occurring before Jan. 1, 2016—the HA precludes these cases from eligibility—will now be able to seek treatment at Centers of Excellence, including Walter Reed, for as long as they are experiencing symptoms. Working with the Asian American Foreign Affairs Asso- ciation, supporters on Capitol Hill, and others, AFSA tack- led the sensitive issue of assignment restrictions. AFSA believes that many of these restrictions, put in place by the department ostensibly to check the influence of adversarial foreign governments, are unnecessary and do not allow for a fair and transparent appeal process. In 2022 we successfully advocated for congressional language mandating establishment of procedures for employees wishing to appeal these restrictions, and in subsequent negotiations with the department, succeeded in removing Diplomatic Security (DS) as a final decision- maker on the grounds that DS imposes the initial restriction. In early January 2023, the department published new FAM regulations that mandate a 60-day time limit for a final decision once the employee has appealed to the Security Appeals Panel. Now, employees requesting an appeal will benefit from an independent review of their assignment restrictions. As of mid-May, we are told that more than 70 percent of assignment restrictions have been lifted. We are currently pressing for similar reforms in the department’s “pass-through objection” process. As part of our efforts to improve the department’s culture, AFSA strongly encouraged the establishment of an office to address bullying and other toxic workplace behavior, especially from those in supervisory positions. In January 2023, the department sent formal notifica- tion to Capitol Hill that it intends to create an Office of Bullying and Harassment Intervention within the Bureau of Global Talent Management. AFSA pushed for this office not only to be fully staffed and resourced, but for it to have the means to compel both sides in a workplace conflict, particularly the alleged offender, to engage. We hope that once established, this office will start to change a department culture that for too long has toler- ated toxic workplace behavior. AFSA, which first began considering this idea in 2018, was pleased to learn that in December 2019, the depart- ment had agreed to the creation of a new full-time State representative position to deal primarily with the con- cerns of Foreign Service specialists. As of this writing, there are two candidates running in the AFSA election for this position, which is a two-year pilot that coincides with the upcoming Governing Board term. Throughout this Governing Board term, the State VP and the Labor Management team continued to engage the department on overarching issues of Foreign Service reform. This included AFSA’s priorities of making the assignment and assessment processes more transparent and useful. State Department