§4133 Freedom of action

Summary

Protects anyone who files a grievance and people involved in the grievance from being controlled, pressured, harassed, treated unfairly, or punished because of the grievance. Grievant = the person who files the grievance. The person who filed the grievance can have any representative they choose at every step. If the filer belongs to a bargaining unit with an official union but the union is not representing them, that union still has the right to appear. The filer and any representative or witness who works for the Service or the Department must be given reasonable official time off to prepare, attend, and testify in the grievance process. The Department must not put certain grievance-related items into a personnel file: a decision by the Secretary to reject the Grievance Board’s recommendation, a Board finding against the filer, or the fact that a grievance is pending or was held. The Department must keep grievance records confidential. The Foreign Service Grievance Board can enforce these rules. The Department must try to speed up security clearances when needed so a grievance can be resolved fairly and quickly.