The Foreign Service Journal, December 2022

52 DECEMBER 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL State Hillary Clinton’s private server. With Ms. Papp’s help, they were found not liable. More recently, a legal brief authored by Ms. Papp and Deputy General Counsel Raeka Safai resulted in a ruling by the Foreign Service Labor Relations Board granting retroactive 2015 and 2016 Meritorious Service Increases (MSI). This was a particularly notable victory that followed an earlier loss on the issue before the Foreign Service Grievance Board (FSGB). Under Ms. Papp’s leadership, AFSA also prevailed in the 2013 MSI dispute. As a result of AFSA’s efforts in these disputes, more than 1,000 For- eign Service employees received a permanent increase to their salaries or annuities if retired. Ms. Papp’s 30 years of experience with discipline cases gives her clients a distinct advantage. For example, punishments are supposed to be consistent with those previously imposed on other employees. Since she is well versed in the history of similar cases, she has often succeeded in getting a client’s penalty reduced from what an agency initially proposed to a fairer penalty. Ms. Papp also authored two amicus briefs that helped achieve significant victories for Foreign Service members and estab- lished positive precedent. In one case, the court ruled that the Secretary of State could not overrule a decision of the FSGB find- ing that the department had not established cause to separate a Foreign Service employee. In a second case, the court ruled that a consul general was acting within the scope of his employment when he was involved in a car accident overseas and therefore Few things make me prouder than seeing the name of an employee I helped out of a potentially career-ending situation on a tenure or promotion list, or getting a decision from the FSGB ruling in AFSA’s favor when an agency violated an agreement. —Sharon L. Papp