@US2Somalia's Muna Mohamed – 2021 Foreign Service National of the Year
November 30, 2021 By domani spero in Awards, Foreign Service, Locally Employed Staff, State Department, U.S. Missions Tags: @US2SOMALIA, FSN of the Year 2021
Sending a hearty congratulations to Muna Mohamed on our @US2Somalia team for being selected as the 2021 Foreign Service National of the Year! Grateful for your continued service & commitment toward advancing America's security, prosperity, and values through your work. https://t.co/8UXkaTAZVt
— Bureau of African Affairs (@AsstSecStateAF) November 26, 2021
Honored and humbled to be selected as the best foreign national State Department employee 2021. Thank you to Ambassador Yamamoto and Secretary Blinken for the recognition! Alhamdulilah. pic.twitter.com/mvPisWm5fd
— Muna Mohamed (@MohamedMuna) November 22, 2021
FSGB Grievant Asks @StateDept "Which Surnames Qualified as "Hispanic Surnames" #Census #Google
November 30, 2021 By domani spero in Discrimination, Diversity, Foreign Service, Grievance, Realities of the FS, State Department, Trends Tags: Discovery, FS statistics, FSGB Case No. 2020-053, Hispanic surnames, motion to compel, prima facie case, tenure denial
Via Record of Proceedings
FSGB Case No. 2020–053 | October 22, 2021
I. BACKGROUND
The background of this case is described in detail in the June 17, 2021, Order: Motion to Compel issued by the Foreign Service Grievance Board ("FSGB" or the "Board"). That Order required the Department to provide additional responses to grievant's initial discovery requests including grievant's Interrogatory #1 which sought disaggregated statistics on rates of tenure for Foreign Service Generalist career candidates with Hispanic surnames who were considered for tenure during a specified five-year period, as compared with the tenure rate for other candidates.
On July 7, 2021, the Department responded to grievant's Interrogatory #1.
Grievant was dissatisfied with the response and on July 14, 2021, he requested clarification of how the Department determined which surnames were Hispanic. The Department responded the same day, explaining how it had determined which surnames were Hispanic.
On July 27, 2021, grievant made a follow-on discovery request, seeking a list of the surnames the Department determined to be Hispanic and a list of the surnames of the candidates who had non-Hispanic surnames and were denied tenure.
On August 25, 2021, the Department objected to grievant's July 27, 2021 request. The parties met and conferred on grievant's discovery request and the Department's objection, without reaching agreement.
In a motion to compel, the burden is on the requesting party to prove the merits of the motion. FSGB Case No. 2016-027 (Order, dated October 28, 2016); FSGB Case No. 2011-013 (Order, dated September 28, 2011).
B. SECOND MOTION TO COMPEL
Interrogatory #1
Interrogatory #1 states as follows:
Please provide disaggregated statistics on rates of tenure for minority Foreign Service Generalists as compared to white Foreign Service Generalists between March 9, 2014 and March 4, 2019.
Department's Response:
On July 7, 2021, The Department provided the following data for Foreign Service Generalist Tenure Candidates reviewed from March 2014-March 2019:
Candidates with Hispanic Surnames – 108
3 denied tenure = 2.8%
105 recommended for tenure = 97.2%
Candidates with non-Hispanic Surnames – 1871
48 denied tenure = 2.6%
1823 recommended for tenure = 97.4%
Grievant asked the Department how it determined which surnames qualified as "Hispanic surnames."
Department's Response to Request for Clarification
The Department responded that it accessed publicly available 2010 Census data and "pulled the record of last names where more than 50% of respondents by that name identified as being Hispanic." There were 199 Hispanic surnames on the Census list and the Department cross-referenced those names with the cumulative list of tenure candidates. The Department then looked at all of the remaining names and identified other Hispanic surnames that did not appear on the Census list. To confirm, the Department checked those names for Spanish/Hispanic origin via Google search. Lastly, the Department checked a random assortment of the remaining names on the list of tenure candidates to confirm that they were other than Hispanic.
Relevance of the Follow-On Interrogatory
In the instant case, grievant alleges that the CTB discriminated against him because of his Hispanic surnames. Grievant has not alleged that he has direct evidence, relying entirely on statistics. To establish a prima facie case based on statistics, grievant must establish that Hispanic surnamed candidates were tenured at a statistically significantly lower rate than non-Hispanic surnamed candidates. Accordingly, the surnames of the candidates who were tenured, and those who were denied tenure, clearly are relevant to grievant's claim, just as the gender of candidates would be relevant to a claim of sex discrimination.
the Privacy Act does not prohibit disclosure of Human Resources information about comparator employees to a grievant if ordered by the Board.
The Board has determined that grievant is entitled to know what surnames are considered Hispanic for purposes of the Department's discovery responses. At the same time, the other candidates deserve privacy regarding their tenuring decisions. To accommodate those competing interests, the Board will order the Department to respond anew to grievant's Interrogatory #1, as set forth in Section IV, infra.
IV. ORDER
Grievant's Second Motion to Compel is granted in part and denied in part, as follows:
1. Within 14 days of this Order, the Department shall email grievant the list of 199 Hispanic surnames the Department previously identified from the Census data.
2. Within 14 days of the Department's email, grievant shall email the Department a list of any of the 199 surnames that grievant considers not to be Hispanic ("List A"), and a separate list of any surnames not on the list of 199 that grievant considers to be Hispanic ("List B") and the source of the surnames. Grievant may use any source of surnames for List B, e.g., lists publicly available on the Internet. If grievant fails to email List A and List B to the Department by this deadline, grievant shall be deemed to have waived any further response to Interrogatory #1, and grievant's discovery shall be considered complete.
3. Within 21 days of grievant's email, the Department shall email grievant a revised response to Interrogatory #1, using the 199 surnames from the Census data after striking the surnames on List A and adding the surnames on List B, thereby creating List C. At that point grievant's discovery shall be considered complete. The Department may not object to responding to Interrogatory #1 using List C. ….
4. The Board denies grievant's request for the list of the surnames the Department determined to be Hispanic and a list of the surnames the Department determined to be non-Hispanic surnames and were denied tenure.
Read more: 2020-053 – 10-22-2021 – B – Order re Second Motion to Compel_Redacted.pdf
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US Embassy Jerusalem: New @USAmbIsrael Tom Nides Now at Post
November 30, 2021 By domani spero in Ambassadors, State Department, U.S. Missions Tags: Israel, Tom Nides, US Embassy Jerusalem
Please join us in warmly welcoming @USAmbIsrael Tom Nides to Israel! 🇺🇸🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/vkhOatB9nL
— U.S. Embassy Jerusalem (@usembassyjlm) November 29, 2021
Happy to receive the copy of credentials of @USAmbIsrael Tom Nides, as he begins his important tour of duty as the #US Ambassador to #Israel – 🇮🇱 🇺🇸 – great partnership pic.twitter.com/N2biicby6X
— Gil Haskel 🇮🇱 (@GilHaskel) November 30, 2021
I'll spend my first couple days in quarantine, following the latest COVID guidelines. My thanks to the dedicated medical staff at Ben Gurion working to keep us all safe. I'm eagerly awaiting a negative test result so I can begin to meet many of you soon! pic.twitter.com/OILgInLiQV
— Ambassador Tom Nides (@USAmbIsrael) November 29, 2021
US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides landed in #Israel, ending 10 months in which Washington did not have an ambassador in Jerusalem. He will be staying in a home the @usembassyjlm found to rent for him.
Report by @LahavHarkovhttps://t.co/OVWsl9WaiL
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) November 29, 2021
Today I had the opportunity to bid farewell to my friend @USAmbIsrael Michael Ratney and to thank him on behalf of Israel's defense establishment, for his contribution to the bond between Israel and the new US administration. Michael, you will always have a second home in Israel. pic.twitter.com/HCcHQXaj8D
— בני גנץ – Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) November 17, 2021
US Announces Travel Restrictions For Eight African Countries Over New COVID Variant
November 27, 2021 By domani spero in Coronavirus, MEDical, Realities of the FS, State Department, Trends, U.S. Missions, US Presidents, Visas Tags: Botswana, COVID variant, COVID19 pandemic, Kingdom of Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Southern Africa, travel bans, Travel restrictions, Zimbabwe
On November 26, President Biden issued a Proclamation on Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who Pose a Risk of Transmitting Coronavirus Disease 2019. The proclamation is effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on Monday, November 29, 2021. This proclamation notes that this does not apply to persons aboard a flight scheduled to arrive in the United States that departed prior to 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on November 29, 2021.
The entry restrictions cover travelers (with certain exceptions) who were physically present within the Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Eswatini, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of Mozambique, the Republic of Namibia, the Republic of South Africa, and the Republic of Zimbabwe during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States.
The national emergency caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the United States continues to pose a grave threat to our health and security. As of November 26, 2021, the United States has experienced more than 47 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 773,000 COVID-19 deaths. It is the policy of my Administration to implement science-based public health measures, across all areas of the Federal Government, to act swiftly and aggressively to prevent further spread of the disease.
On November 24, 2021, the Republic of South Africa informed the World Health Organization (WHO) of a new B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, that was detected in that country. On November 26, 2021, the WHO Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution announced that B.1.1.529 constitutes a variant of concern. While new information is still emerging, the profile of B.1.1.529 includes multiple mutations across the SARS-CoV-2 genome, some of which are concerning. According to the WHO, preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other variants of concern. Further, the WHO reports that the number of cases of this variant appears to be increasing in almost all provinces in the Republic of South Africa. Based on these developments, and in light of the extensive cross-border transit and proximity in Southern Africa, the detection of B.1.1.529 cases in some Southern African countries, and the lack of widespread genomic sequencing in Southern Africa, the United States Government, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), within the Department of Health and Human Services, has reexamined its policies on international travel and concluded that further measures are required to protect the public health from travelers entering the United States from the Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Eswatini, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of Mozambique, the Republic of Namibia, the Republic of South Africa, and the Republic of Zimbabwe. In addition to these travel restrictions, the CDC shall implement other mitigation measures for travelers departing from the countries listed above and destined for the United States, as needed.
Given the recommendation of the CDC, working in close coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, described above, I have determined that it is in the interests of the United States to take action to suspend and restrict the entry into the United States, as immigrants and nonimmigrants, of noncitizens of the United States ("noncitizens") who were physically present within the Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Eswatini, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of Mozambique, the Republic of Namibia, the Republic of South Africa, and the Republic of Zimbabwe during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, hereby find that the unrestricted entry into the United States of persons described in section 1 of this proclamation would, except as provided for in section 2 of this proclamation, be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and that their entry should be subject to certain restrictions, limitations, and exceptions.
The @WHO has identified a new COVID variant which is spreading through Southern Africa. As a precautionary measure until we have more information, I am ordering air travel restrictions from South Africa and seven other countries.
— President Biden (@POTUS) November 26, 2021
Growth rate (in absolute terms and relative to Delta) will be become clearer in the following days, but at the moment, I believe we're looking at a variant that potentially has significant immune evasion and that appears to be spreading rapidly. 15/16
— Trevor Bedford (@trvrb) November 26, 2021
The new #COVID19 virus variant – Omicron – has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. This is why we need to speed up our efforts to deliver on #VaccinEquity ASAP and protect the most vulnerable everywhere. https://t.co/b9QBMJXtJl
Giving Thanks With a Grateful Heart
November 25, 2021 By domani spero in Blognotes Tags: Blognotes
This Thanksgiving Day, with a grateful heart, I thank all of you who made it possible to keep this blog going. This has been a long journey and most of you have been with us since we started; without your dedicated support, the blog would have folded its wings some time ago.
I am forever grateful for your kind support and affording us this uncommon existence online. Thank you for reading, and thank you for for keeping us company. It has been my great honor to share this small corner of the world with you. Thank you with all my heart. ❤️❤️❤️ — D