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Frequently Asked Question Below find information of interest to potential new employees of the Department of State and other Foreign Affairs Agencies: Employment, Security, Overseas Life, Benefits, and HIV. This was produced by Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA), and reflects GLIFAA's understanding of current State Department policy regarding sexual orientation. This is not an official publication of the Department of State or any other Foriegn Affairs Agency. Employment Q: Does the State Department hire gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons? A: Yes. The Department does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in any of its employment decisions. The same is true of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the other foreign affairs agencies of the federal government. This policy is laid out in Executive Order 13087, signed by President Clinton on May 28, 1998. E.O. 13087 established a uniform policy throughout the federal government that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in the federal civilian workforce.
A: No, not directly. If you pass the Oral Exam and are given a conditional offer of employment, you must undergo a security background check and a medical evaluation. The security background check is conducted by agents of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS). The background check consists of an interview with a DS agent, who will then contact the references you provide for further information. There is no routine question regarding an applicant's sexual orientation, and DS will not be concerned with your sexual orientation per se. However, there are specific, individual circumstances in which you could be asked directly about your sexual orientation, or in which it would be unavoidable to reveal it. For example, you could be asked about your personal relationships, people you have lived with, or associations or organizations to which you have belonged. You will also likely be asked to describe any close relationships with foreign nationals. If any of these circumstances involved your sexual orientation, you might be obliged to disclose your orientation. During the medical evaluation, the physician may ask about your sexual activity, or about medication you are taking/have taken. You will also be asked if you have consulted a therapist or other mental health professional, and to explain the circumstances if you have. If the circumstances are linked to your sexual orientation, it is possible that you would have to disclose it. In all cases, candor and honesty are essential. It is incumbent upon the applicant to be complete and forthcoming in providing relevant information for the evaluation process. Remember, being gay, lesbian or bisexual is not in itself an obstacle to employment with the State Department. Many of our recently hired members entered into government service completely out and were not denied entry as a result of being homosexual.
A: The State Department is committed to maintaining a workplace free from discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation, and State's policy strictly prohibits harassment based on sexual orientation. Specifically, State prohibits verbal or physical conduct that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual or group based on their sexual orientation, or which creates a hostile work environment or unreasonably interferes with an employee's work performance or career opportunities. Examples include epithets, slurs, negative stereotyping, threats or intimidation, whether they are expressed to an individual or a group or are contained in materials posted or otherwise circulated on State premises. Subchapter 3 FAH-1 H-1520 of the Foreign Affairs Handbook details the Department's complaints procedure for employees who suffer harassment based on sexual orientation. In addition, State policy is in line with federal law, which prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance, or creates a hostile or offensive work environment. Examples of sexual harassment include unwelcome demands, propositions, advances, teasing, dirty jokes, remarks or questions of a sexual nature, offensive gestures and touching, sexually demeaning words used to describe an individual, and the display in the workplace of sexually offensive objects or pictures. That said, homophobia still exists the State Department as much as it does in society at large. Problems have occurred and difficulties continue for gay and lesbian employees. What is important is that a mechanism exists to assist employees when confronted with such unwanted harassment.
Q: Will being gay, lesbian or bisexual prevent me from getting and maintaining a security clearance? A: No. Executive Order 12968, signed by President Clinton in August 1995, states that the United States Government does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation when determining an individual's eligibility to receive access to classified information. State's security clearance procedures comply with the provisions of this Executive Order.
A: Being in the closet does not in itself make you a security risk. Each case is reviewed using the “whole person” concept to arrive at a common sense determination of whether an individual would pose an unacceptable risk to the protection of classified information. To make this determination, the Department considers all information gathered during the security background investigation. The mere fact that you may not have disclosed your sexual orientation to friends or family would not normally make you a security risk. That said, there are risks in not being honest. If during the background investigation it was found that you were dishonest or deliberately falsified or misrepresented information in order to conceal your sexual orientation, that information could figure into a decision to withhold a security clearance.
A: In most cases, the decision whether to come out to colleagues in the Department or at post is a personal matter, not a security issue. There are, however, circumstances in which it may be unavoidable. You are required, for example, to report certain unofficial contacts or relationships with foreign nationals, any outside employment you wish to take, certain speeches you wish to deliver, and any legal proceedings (civil or criminal) you may become involved in. If such circumstances involve your sexual orientation, you might be obliged to reveal your orientation to your coworkers.
Q: Can the ambassador send me away from post if he or she finds out I'm gay? A: The Ambassador (or other Chief of Mission) has broad authority to ensure that his or her embassy (or other mission) is able to carry out the duties of representing the United States in a foreign country. The Ambassador is generally granted the choice of his or her Deputy Chief of Mission, secretary, special assistant or staff assistant (where applicable) and other front office staff. The Ambassador also has the authority to request that a member of the mission depart post if that person's conduct is deemed to jeopardize the mission's effectiveness in carrying out its goals. Although this authority is broad, the right to order home a mission member is exercised sparingly, and Chiefs of Mission rarely intervene directly in the assignment process. Since being gay in itself is not a barrier to employment in the Foreign Service or to acquiring and maintaining a security clearance, the Ambassador cannot ask you to leave post merely for being (or on the suspicion of being) gay. However, there could be circumstances in which a person's conduct of his/her personal life (regardless of sexual orientation) could be considered detrimental to the ability of the mission to carry out its goals. Such circumstances would have to be considered on a case-by-case and post-by-post basis.
A: No. Assignments are based on Bureau consideration of the qualifications of all bidders for a given position. Assignment panels may not consider an officer's gender, age, creed, ethnic background or sexual orientation when making assignments.
A: Yes. Your partner can accompany you to post and live with you in embassy-provided housing, although the process is much different than for heterosexual married couples. The U.S. Government at present does not officially recognize domestic partners as “Eligible Family Members” (EFMs), even if you have been together for an extended period of time or have undergone a commitment ceremony. Your partner therefore cannot be included on your travel orders. If your partner travels with you to post, you will have to pay the airfare and all other travel expenses. Your partner cannot be issued a diplomatic passport, and must travel on his/her personal passport. Your partner may reside with you in embassy-provided housing, at no cost. State Telegram 242724 of December 26, 2000, specifically includes unmarried partners within the definition of an employee's Members of Household (MOH), and provides guidance to Chiefs of Mission on how to accommodate MOHs and make them feel welcome at post, including assisting MOHs with obtaining visas and residence permits in accordance with local law, allowing MOHs to compete for local-hire positions within the embassy, and providing MOHs access to all post-sanctioned events and activities on the same basis as Eligible Family Members. In December 2003, MOH provisions were included in the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM), the document that contains the regulations, policies, and procedures for the Department of State's operations. 3 FAM 4180 instructs Chiefs of Mission to: 1) assist MOHs, upon request, in obtaining appropriate residency permits and travel visas in accordance with local law; 2) include U.S. citizen MOHs in the Mission warden system; 3) consider MOHs, who can legally work in the respective country and have obtained any necessary work permits, for positions at post that are appropriate for their citizenship; 4) at the employee's request and with the MOH's authorization, include MOHs in post telephone and address listings; 5) include MOHs in all events sanctioned by posts on the same basis as Eligible Family Members (EFMs); and 6) allow MOHs to participate in local CLO and FLO sponsored activities and programs. It requires Department employees to: 1) declare all MOHs to the Chief of Mission; 2) ensure, to the best of their ability, that MOHs comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and any post policies applicable to the American community; 3) encourage MOHs to complete emergency locator cards for use by post; and 4) report foreign national MOHs in accordance with 3 FAM 4100 Appendix B.
A: The Department does not consider unmarried couples to be “tandem couples” for bidding and assignment purposes. You and your partner would have to bid on positions at the same post, and would be considered as two separate bidders. It is certainly possible for you and your partner to be assigned to the same post, particularly if you make your wishes clear during the assignments process, but there are no guarantees that two officers will be assigned together, even if they are a traditional tandem couple. The needs of the service and the system's efforts to best accommodate the interests of all bidders play an important role in the process.
A: If your partner can legally work in the host country, he/she may apply and compete for positions advertised by the embassy, recreation associations, and other expatriate organizations just as family members, expatriates and host nationals may. Your partner is not considered an Eligible Family Member, however, and so cannot benefit from the preference given to EFMs applying for embassy positions. If an EFM and a non-EFM with equivalent qualifications apply for the same position, U.S. law requires the embassy give preference to the EFM.
A: No. At present, training slots at NFATC are restricted to employees and spouses only. GLIFAA is continuing to work with the Department to develop opportunities for partners to obtain training where appropriate.
Q: Can my partner benefit from other employment benefits that I receive as a Foreign Service Officer (FSO)? A: Federal statutes control who is eligible to receive employment benefits such as health insurance, life insurance and retirement annuity. Unmarried partners are not eligible. State is bound by federal law in this regard and does not have independent discretion to offer these benefits. Nevertheless, certain provisions of current federal employee benefits and compensation are already available to unmarried partners of federal employees:
Q: Will I be tested for HIV during the employment application process? A: Yes. An HIV test is a standard part of the required medical exam.
A: That depends. In general, newly hired FSOs must be medically able to accept worldwide assignment, and the level of available medical care varies greatly from post to post. Each candidate's medical condition and ability to serve worldwide is assessed on an individual basis. If the Department's medical staff determines that an individual's HIV positive condition severely limits the places where he or she could serve, this limitation may be an obstacle to employment. Currently, HIV positive individuals are not considered available for worldwide employment, as regular medical check ups are required for asymptomatic and otherwise healthy individuals. GLIFAA is continuing to work with Department officials to develop a different approach to considering the employment of HIV positive people.
A: The Department's medical staff regards its evaluations and the existence of any condition to be medically privileged information that cannot be divulged without the consent of the individual, except when that individual is at risk for harming him/herself, someone else, or national security. In addition, Department medical records are protected by the Privacy Act. Under this federal law, information from Department of State medical records may be disclosed within the Department only to those individuals who have a specific need for this information in the performance of their official duties.
A: No. State does not report the HIV status of applicants to any health authority. Affected individuals are referred to their private physicians for further evaluation, treatment and monitoring. These physicians may have a reporting obligation.
A: In itself, HIV infection does not affect a person's continued employment with State. Symptoms or conditions associated with HIV, however, can make it difficult or impossible for an individual to perform the essential functions of his or her job. FSOs must have their medical clearances updated periodically. Certain conditions associated with HIV can affect the employee's ability to maintain a worldwide medical clearance, but persons with limited medical clearances can and do continue to serve in the Foreign Service. Depending on the individual's condition and the availability of appropriate medical resources, an HIV positive person could be approved for either worldwide or limited overseas assignment. Medical clearance and assignment decisions for HIV positive individuals are made on a case-by-case basis. This information above was produced by Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA), a State Department-recognized employee group. It reflects GLIFAA's understanding of current State Department policy regarding sexual orientation. This is not an official publication of the Department of State or any other Foriegn Affairs Agency.
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