UNCLASSIFIED (U)

3 FAM 4890

Meritorious Service IncreaseS (MSI) AND QUALITY PERFORMANCE AWARDS

(CT:PER-998;   06-09-2020)
(Office of Origin:  GTM/PE)

3 FAM 4891  Meritorious Service IncreaseS (MSI)

3 FAM 4891.1  Authority

(CT:PER-893;   12-11-2017)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service Employees Only)

a. Authority for a Meritorious Service Increase (MSI) is 22 U.S.C. 3966(b) (Section 406(b) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended).

b. To the extent that the FAM and the applicable “Procedural Precepts for Foreign Service Meritorious Service Increase Panels” (MSI Precepts) differ, the MSI Precepts govern this process.

3 FAM 4891.2  Definitions

(CT:PER-893;   12-11-2017)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service Employees Only)

a. “Especially meritorious service” is outstanding performance and/or service in the areas of policy leadership, collaboration across functional lines and human resources development.  It applies to superior performance exceeding normal work expectations, irrespective of potential to serve at a higher grade.

b. A Meritorious Service Increase (MSI) is a permanent increase to the next higher salary step within a Foreign Service class granted on the basis of especially meritorious performance and/or service.  It is in addition to any regular within-class step increase provided in accordance with section 406(a) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended.

3 FAM 4891.3  Eligibility

(CT:PER-893;   12-11-2017)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service Employees Only)

a. The following employees are eligible for nomination for an MSI:

(1)  Career members of the Foreign Service in grades 07 to 01;

(2)  Generalist career candidates recommended for tenure by a Commissioning and Tenure Board prior to the MSI nomination deadline; and

(3)  Specialist career candidates who are eligible for competitive promotion.

b. The following employees are not eligible to receive an MSI:

(1)  Senior Foreign Service employees;

(2)  Foreign Service career candidates (other than those generalists recommended for tenure by a Commissioning and Tenure Board prior to the MSI nomination deadline and those specialists eligible for competitive promotion);

(3)  Employees in classes and occupational categories subject to administrative promotion per 3 FAM 2329.3-2;

(4)  Limited Non-career Appointees;

(5)  Employees who received an MSI during the same assignment;

(6)  Employees who previously received a Superior or Meritorious Honor cash award for the same performance and/or service; and

(7)  Employees who have been directly referred to a Performance Standards Board by the most recent Foreign Service Selection Board, provided that such referral has been approved by the Director General and is based at least in part on the most recent Employee Evaluation Report (EER).

3 FAM 4891.4  Criteria

(CT:PER-893;   12-11-2017)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service Employees Only)

a. Nominations must only cover consistently outstanding performance and/or service which occurred in the most recent rating period for those employees serving in assignments of 12 months or less, or during a period of 12-24 months for employees serving in assignments of more than 12 months.

b. The award nomination submitted in support of an MSI must satisfy one or more of the following criteria:

(1)  The employee has demonstrated sustained exceptional performance and/or service over the period under review that is distinctive and/or above and beyond the normal call of duty;

(2)  The employee’s quality of performance and/or service, particularly in difficult circumstances and conditions, demonstrated exceptional judgment, initiative, adaptability, resilience and resourcefulness;

(3)  The employee has significantly and substantially contributed to and advanced Department or Mission goals and the Department’s Leadership and Management Principles in the areas of policy, management, and/or human resources, regardless of post or assignment;

(4)  The employee has demonstrated character and conduct that modeled the Department’s six core values and that placed the Department’s success above personal achievement; and

(5)  The employee has excelled at interpersonal relations that enhanced a productive and collaborative work environment with colleagues at all levels.

3 FAM 4891.5  Procedures

3 FAM 4891.5-1  Conferral of MSIs

(CT:PER-893;   12-11-2017)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service Employees Only)

The conferral of MSIs is governed by the MSI Precepts.

3 FAM 4891.5-2  Nominating Procedures

(CT:PER-893;   12-11-2017)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service Employees Only)

a. MSI nominations open season will be governed by the MSI Precepts.

b. Only individual employees may be nominated for MSIs.  Nominations for group awards are not accepted.

c.  Anyone may nominate an employee, but all nominations require approval by an official in the employee’s chain of command, such as Bureau Office Director, post Principal Officer, or other senior official.

d. Nominations must be submitted on Form DS-1903.

e. Approved nominations will be forwarded to the appropriate Bureau MSI Committee for review and recommendation to the Department MSI Panels.

f.  Decisions of the Bureau MSI Committees and the Department MSI Panels will be based solely on the individual nominations.

3 FAM 4891.5-3  Bureau MSI Committees

(CT:PER-998;   06-09-2020)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service Employees Only)

a. Bureau MSI Committees will review all nominations for employees of that Bureau in accordance with the “Procedural Precepts for Foreign Service Meritorious Service Increase Panels” and the “Bureau Guidance for Meritorious Service Increases Committees” (Bureau Guidance).

b. Bureaus will convene MSI Committees annually to review MSI nominations according to the timetable established by GTM/PE and published in the MSI Precepts and Bureau Guidance.

c.  Bureau MSI Committees will select a maximum number of nominations as determined in the MSI Precepts, based on the Bureau’s eligible Foreign Service population, to be put forward to GTM/PE for further competitive review by the Department MSI Panels.  GTM/PE will annually provide each Bureau with its maximum MSI nomination number, before the Bureau MSI Committee begins to meet.

d. In those Bureaus with fewer than 15 eligible Foreign Service employees, a maximum of one MSI nomination may be forwarded to the Department MSI Panels.

3 FAM 4891.5-4  Approval Procedures

(CT:PER-998;   06-09-2020)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service Employees Only)

a. The Director General will convene annual Department MSI Panels to review nominations in accordance with MSI Precepts and to make recommendations for conferral of MSIs.

b. GTM/PE will certify to the Department MSI Panels the nominations to be considered for MSIs and provide technical advice and staff support to the panels.

c.  The Department MSI Panels will evaluate the nominations and will rank order them, in the order of their relative merit, in accordance with the MSI Precepts and make recommendations to the Director General.

d. The Director General will review the findings and recommendations of the Department MSI Panels.

3 FAM 4891.5-5  Denial of MSIs

(CT:PER-893;   12-11-2017)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service Employees Only)

a. An employee may not receive an MSI if s/he is low ranked by the most recent Foreign Service Selection Board and the low ranking is in part based on the most recent EER.

b. Candidates who have been recommended and reached for MSIs will be vetted for issues of loyalty, security, misconduct, suitability, or malfeasance. The Director General (DG) may temporarily remove an employee recommended for an MSI pending resolution of an open matter under review by any of the vetting offices.  Upon conclusion of the matter, if the case is resolved with no adverse action against the employee, the DG will grant the MSI retroactive to the effective date of that year’s MSIs.  If the matter that gave rise to the temporary removal results in an adverse action against the employee, the MSI recommendation will be referred to the DG for further consideration based on the nomination, the adverse action determination, and any written statement from the employee.  If, based on these materials, the DG determines that the employee should receive the MSI, the DG will grant the MSI retroactively.  The DG’s decision is final.

3 FAM 4891.5-6  Implementation

(CT:PER-893;   12-11-2017)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service Employees Only)

a. A Meritorious Service Increase (MSI) becomes effective within three pay periods following the announcement of the MSI recipients.

b. With respect to the member’s next within-class step increase, if, after receiving an MSI, a member’s salary is set at a step with a 52-week waiting period, i.e., at step 9 or below, the next regular within-class step increase will be effective 52 weeks from the member’s last regular within-class step increase.  If, after receiving an MSI,  a member’s salary is set at a step with a 104-week waiting period requirement, i.e., at step 10 or higher, the next regular within-class step increase will be effective 104 weeks from the member’s last regular within-class step increase.

c.  Those approved for an MSI who have reached the highest step of their grade (FS 02-07, step 14 or FS-01, step 10 and higher) by the effective date of an approved MSI will be granted a cash payment in the amount of $2500 in lieu of a step increase.

3 FAM 4892  quality performance awards

3 FAM 4892.1  Description

(CT:PER-893;   12-11-2017)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service Employees Only)

A Quality Performance Award (QPA) is a cash award for Civil Service employees at grades GS-15 and below who display sustained outstanding performance but are at the highest step of their current grade or are subject to a pay cap and thus, per 3 FAM 3124.4-4(a), cannot receive a Quality Step Increase (QSI).  Recommendations for QPAs, as with QSIs, will be considered annually in conjunction with and immediately following the annual performance appraisal process.

Together with QSIs, QPAs are granted through a two-step process as laid out in 3 FAM 3124.4 and the “Precepts for Civil Service Quality Step Increase and Quality Performance Awards Committees and Panels” (Precepts):  nomination and review by Bureau Awards Committees and a second competitive review by Department-level Panels.  To the extent that the language of the Precepts varies from that in 3 FAM 4892 and/or 3 FAM 3124.4, the language in the Precepts shall govern.

3 FAM 4892.2  Eligibility

(CT:PER-893;   12-11-2017)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service Employees Only)

QPAs, together with QSIs, are subject to the eligibility requirements of 3 FAM 3124.4-4 and the governing Precepts.

3 FAM 4892.3  Criteria

(CT:PER-893;   12-11-2017)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service Employees Only)

In addition to the eligibility requirements, documentation submitted in support of a QPA, as for QSIs, must clearly support the criteria outlined in 3 FAM 3124.4-5 and the governing Precepts.

3 FAM 4892.4  Limitations

(CT:PER-893;   12-11-2017)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service Employees Only)

QPAs, together with QSIs, are subject to the limitations of 3 FAM 3124.4-6 and the governing Precepts.

3 FAM 4892.5  Justification, Recommendation, Approval, and Removal

(CT:PER-893;   12-11-2017)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service Employees Only)

QPAs, together with QSIs, are subject to 3 FAM 3124.4-7 and the governing Precepts.

UNCLASSIFIED (U)