Foreign Service Act of 1980 - Detailed breakdown

Directs the Secretary to establish a professional development program to ensure members of the Service obtain the skills and knowledge required at various stages of their careers.

Mandates that all personnel actions for career members be made in accordance with merit principles and protects members from discrimination or reprisal for whistleblowing.

Establishes an Inspector General appointed by the President to audit and inspect Foreign Service posts and State Department units to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse.

Stipulates that chiefs of mission should be appointed based on competence and that contributions to political campaigns should not be a factor in their appointment.

Requires the establishment of compensation plans for foreign national employees and U.S. citizen family members abroad, based on local prevailing wage rates and practices.

Authorizes compensation for current or former foreign national employees who are imprisoned by a foreign government as a result of their employment with the United States.

Authorizes a gratuity payment equal to one year's salary to the surviving dependents of any Foreign Service employee who dies from injuries sustained in the performance of duty abroad.

Requires that recommendations for promotion by selection boards be based on records of character, ability, conduct, quality of work, and general performance of Service members.

Mandates that personnel records for the Foreign Service shall be confidential and subject to inspection only by authorized individuals, congressional committees, and the member upon request.

Requires the Secretary to establish maximum time-in-class limitations for career members, who shall be retired from the Service if not promoted within the established time.

Requires any participant in the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System to be retired at age 65, provided they have at least 5 years of service credit.

Defines rules for creditable civilian and military service toward retirement, including the use of unused sick leave and special contributions for periods of leave without pay.

Authorizes the Secretary of State to grant one and a half years of service credit for each year of duty at designated unhealthful posts.

Requires that laws affecting the Civil Service Retirement System be extended to the Foreign Service system by Executive order to maintain conformity.

Authorizes the Secretary to pay for a wide range of travel, leave, health care, and representation expenses for Foreign Service members and their families.

Establishes a statutory framework for labor-management relations, protecting the right of employees to organize, bargain collectively, and participate through labor organizations.

Establishes the Foreign Service Labor Relations Board to supervise elections, resolve unfair labor practice complaints, and administer labor-management provisions.

Establishes procedures for the General Counsel to investigate and adjudicate unfair labor practice charges, including holding hearings and issuing remedies like reinstatement with backpay.

Requires labor organizations to maintain democratic procedures, fiscal integrity, and be free from corrupt influences to receive official recognition from the Department.

Authorizes official paid time for employees representing an exclusive representative during collective bargaining negotiations, including attendance at impasse proceedings.

Creates an independent board of distinguished citizens to adjudicate grievances from Foreign Service members, with the authority to order remedies and make recommendations to the Secretary.

Grants the Department of State new authorities, including accepting gifts, establishing schools abroad, and providing malpractice liability protection for its medical personnel.

Repeals the Foreign Service Act of 1946 and numerous other related provisions, consolidating and revising the laws governing the Foreign Service.

Updates numerous U.S. laws, including the Asian Development Bank Act and the Mutual Security Act, to replace outdated references to the Foreign Service Act of 1946 with the new Foreign Service Act of 1980.

Requires the Secretary of State to designate at least two Foreign Service posts to test the relationship between foreign language competence and effectiveness, with a report due to Congress by 1986.

Authorizes a danger pay allowance for service in hostile areas and an additional pay differential for posts with especially adverse conditions to serve as recruitment and retention incentives.

Authorizes the payment of up to three months' pay in advance to an employee upon their assignment to a post in a foreign area.

Grants federal retirement credit for periods of imprisonment of certain foreign national employees and for service with organizations like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Asia Foundation.

Mandates the Secretary of State to submit annual reports to Congress detailing the implementation of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, including personnel system compatibility and recruitment goals.

Authorizes training for family members and establishes a family liaison office to provide career counseling and employment assistance to spouses of members of the Service.

Entitles a former spouse of a Foreign Service participant to a pro-rata share of retirement and survivor annuities, provided the marriage lasted at least 10 years during creditable service.

Allows for the recomputation of annuities for participants of Japanese ancestry to give credit for civilian service during periods of internment in World War II.

Allows participants in the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System to elect, through a spousal agreement, to provide a survivor annuity for a former spouse.

Applies provisions granting former spouses rights to a portion of a Foreign Service member's annuity for any individual who becomes a former spouse after the Act's effective date.