GRIEVANCES.

SEC. 177. GRIEVANCES. (a) Grievance Board Procedures.— Section 1106 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4136) is amended in the first sentence of paragraph (8) by striking “until the Board has ruled upon the grievance.” and inserting “until the date which is one year after such determination or until the Board has ruled upon the grievance, whichever comes first. The Board shall extend the one-year limitation under the preceding sentence and the Department shall continue to suspend such action, if the Board determines that the agency or the Board is responsible for the delay in the resolution of the grievance. The Board may also extend the 1-year limit if it determines that the delay is due to the complexity of the case, the unavailability of witnesses or to circumstances beyond the control of the agency, the Board or the grievant.”. (b) Time Limitation on Requests for Judicial Review.— Section 1110 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4140) is amended in the first sentence by inserting before the period “, if the request for judicial review is filed not later than 180 days after the final action of the Secretary or the Board (or in the case of an aggrieved party who is posted abroad at the time of the final action of the Secretary or the Board, if the request for judicial review is filed not later than 180 days after the aggrieved party’s return to the United States)”.