GRIEVANCES BASED ON ALLEGED DISCRIMINATION.

SEC. 153. GRIEVANCES BASED ON ALLEGED DISCRIMINATION. (a) Scope of Grievances.—(1) Section 1101(a)(1) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4131(a)(1)) (hereinafter in this section referred to as “the Act”) is amended— (A) by striking “and” at the end of subparagraph (F); (B) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (G) and inserting “; and”; and (C) by adding at the end the following: “(H) any discrimination prohibited by— “(i) section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, “(ii) section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, “(iii) section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, “(iv) sections 12 and 15 of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, or “(v) any rule, regulation, or policy directive prescribed under any provision of law described in clauses (i) through (iv).”. (2) Section 1101(b) of the Act (22 U.S.C. 4131(b)) is amended— (A) in paragraph (4) by striking “section 1109(b).” and inserting “section 1109(a)(2).”; and (B) by adding at the end (as a flush left sentence) the following: “Nothing in this subsection shall exclude any act, omission, or condition alleged to violate any law, rule, regulation, or policy directive referred to in subsection (a)(1)(H) from such term.”. (b) Limitation on Filing of Certain Grievances.—Section 1104(a) of the Act (22 U.S.C. 4134(a)) is amended— (1) by inserting “under this chapter” before “unless”; and (2) by adding at the end the following: “(c)(1) In applying subsection (a) with respect to an alleged violation of a law, rule, regulation, or policy directive referred to in section 1101(a)(1)(H), the reference to ‘3 years’ shall be deemed to read ‘180 days’, subject to paragraph (2). “(2) If the occurrence or occurrences giving rise to the grievance are alleged to have occurred while the grievant was assigned to a post abroad, the 180-day period provided for under paragraph (1) shall not commence until the earlier of— “(A) the date as of which the grievant is no longer assigned to such post; or “(B) the expiration of the 18-month period beginning on the date of the occurrence giving rise to the grievance or the last such occurrence, as the case may be.”. (c) Substantive Law to be Applied.—Section 1107 of the Act (22 U.S.C. 4137) is amended by adding at the end the following: “(f) The Board shall, with respect to any grievance based on an alleged violation of a law, rule, regulation, or policy directive referred to in section 1101(a)(1)(H), apply the substantive law that would be applied by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission if a charge or claim alleging discrimination under such law, rule, regulation, or policy directive had been filed with the commission.”. (d) Relationship to Other Remedies.—(1) Section 1109 of the Act (22 U.S.C. 4139) is amended— (A) in subsection (a) by striking “(a)” and inserting “(a)(1)”; (B) in subsection (b)— 105 STAT. 674 (i) by striking “(b)” and inserting “(2)”; (ii) by striking “subsection (a),” and inserting “paragraph (1),”; (iii) by striking “under this section” and inserting “under this subsection”; and (iv) by adding after paragraph (2), as so redesignated by clause (i), the following: “(3) This subsection shall not apply to any grievance with respect to which subsection (b) applies.”; and (C) by adding at the end the following: “(b)(1) With respect to a grievance based on an alleged violation of a law, rule, regulation, or policy directive referred to in section 1101(a)(1)(H), a grievant may either— “(A) file a grievance under this chapter, or “(B) initiate in writing a proceeding under another provision of law, regulation, or Executive order that authorizes relief, but not both. “(2) A grievant shall be considered to have exercised the option under paragraph (1) as soon as the grievant timely either— “(A) files a grievance under this chapter, or “(B) initiates in writing a proceeding under such other provision of law, regulation, or Executive order.”. (2) Section 1015(d) of the Act (22 U.S.C. 4115(d)) is amended by striking “section 1109(b),” and inserting “section 1109(a)(2),”. (e) Judicial Review.—Section 1110 of the Act (22 U.S.C. 4140) is amended— (1) by striking “Any” and inserting “(a) Any”; (2) by adding after the second sentence the following new sentence: “This subsection shall not apply to any grievance with respect to which subsection (b) applies.”; and (3) by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(b)(1) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘aggrieved party’ means a grievant. “(2) With respect to a grievance based on an alleged violation of a law, rule, regulation, or policy directive referred to in section 1101(a)(1)(H), judicial review of whether the act, omission, or condition that is the basis of the grievance violates such law, rule, regulation, or policy directive may be obtained by an aggrieved party only if such party commences a civil action, not later than 90 days after such party receives notice of the final action of the Secretary or the Board, in an appropriate district court of the United States for de novo review.”. (f) Applicability.—The amendments made by this section shall not apply with respect to any grievance (within the meaning of section 1101 of the Act, as amended by this section) arising before the date of enactment of this Act.