Overseas Employment

1.  Purpose.

This Order outlines policies for the recruitment and hiring of job candidates for positions placed within foreign areas, meaning, outside of the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories and possessions.

2.  Background.

The General Services Administration (GSA) periodically authorizes positions in overseas foreign areas to conduct work for the U.S. government in support of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), State Department or other federal agencies. Often these GSA employees are co-located on military installations or U.S. embassies or consulates within the foreign country. In most circumstances (not all) the personnel costs of the support activities are reimbursed to GSA via Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), Treasury Form 7600A/B, or other support agreement (such as a “note verbale” for employees stationed at State Department embassies or consular offices). Such employees are subject to the terms of the MOA (or equivalent) between the agencies involved as well as the “Status of Forces Agreement’’ international treaty between the U.S. and the host country. This Order discusses the different recruitment and placement methods available to GSA to satisfy this international and cross-agency business need as well as certain compensation and leave authorities.

In all circumstances overseas positions are filled by the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM) in compliance with Title 5, including 5 U.S.C. § 2301 (merit systems principles) and § 2302 (prohibited personnel practices). GSA policy in this area is limited to Title 5 and does not include principles from Title 10 since Title 10 does not apply to the GSA.

3.  Scope and applicability.

1. This Order applies to all job candidates or GSA employees that may be appointed (or placed) into overseas positions in foreign areas under the provisions of Title 5 of the U.S. Code.  
2. This Order does not apply to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) because it has independent personnel authority. See Section 6 of the Inspector General Act of 1978, (5 U.S.C. App. 3), as amended (Inspector General is authorized “to select, appoint, and employ, such officers and employees as may be necessary for carrying out the functions, powers, and duties of the Office of Inspector General”) and GSA Order ADM P 5450.39D, GSA Delegations of Authority Manual (Delegations Manual), Chapter 2, Part 1 (“the Inspector General has independent authority to formulate policies and make determinations concerning human capital issues within the [OIG] and GSA determinations/delegations do not limit that authority”). Similarly, GSA specifically recognizes that the Inspector General has independent authority to formulate policies and make determinations concerning training, employee development, and career management.
3. This order does not apply to the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) unless the CBCA determines that it is consistent with the CBCA’s authority under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA) and its independence from GSA management. Pursuant to the CDA, boards of contract appeals “function as quasi-judicial bodies” that are to have “requisite independence” and not be “subject to direction or control by procuring agency management authorities.” S. Rep. No. 95-1118 (1978).

4.  Cancellation. 

GSA Order HRM 9301.1, Overseas Employment, dated July 25, 2018, is canceled.

5.  Nature of revision. 

This Order is being revised to:

1. Provide guidance on the different kinds of appointments and placements that may be used within the civil service to staff positions in foreign overseas locations;
2. Establish roles and responsibilities; 
3. Confirm medical clearance as a condition of employment;
4. Inform that the agency uses the civil service authority of 5 C.F.R. § 335.102 to efficiently reassign staff from the U.S. (typically from the Continental U.S.) to, and back from, foreign areas due to mission needs;
5. Discuss changes to overseas employment forms to facilitate efficient operation of this program area;
6. Discuss the establishment of security clearance designations for positions as well as resulting drug testing requirements; and
7. Ensure that employees are non-competitively reassigned (under 5 C.F.R. § 335.102) to an equivalent position (meaning the same General Schedule grade in the same or different occupational series) upon the conclusion of their final overseas tour, or when that tour is canceled and an employee is returned for service in the U.S. before the conclusion of the final tour, for situations outside of reduction in force.
8. Correct the policy language to clarify that GSA is considered only a Title 5 agency for civil service staffing purposes and that DoD’s competitive service rotation statute (10 U.S.C. 1586) does not apply to GSA. Because GSA recruits and selects positions in accordance with Title 5 alone, depending on the method selection and the resulting type of appointment, competitive selection often confers permanent legal rights to a particular grade, even if that position is overseas. Within Title 5, one exception to this general rule (used to support subsequent demotions) concerns positions specifically advertised as temporary promotion opportunities. Temporary promotions are limited to 5 years (see 5 C.F.R. § 335.102(f).