John Sarbanes: “this amendment would delete section 1145 in the bill, the section which purports to clarify the remedial authority of…”

“this amendment would delete section 1145 in the bill, the section which purports to clarify the remedial authority of the Foreign Service Grievance Board, but which in effect limits the remedial authority of the Foreign Service Grievance Board. I am frank to say I hope we will not do that. The section in question would expressly limit the remedial authority of the Foreign Service Grievance Board to those actions specified in section 1107(b) of the Foreign Service Act. Now, as I understand the Department's thinking in this matter, they believe it is necessary to prevent the Board from relying on other statutes as authority for directing remedies that are not contained within section 1107(b) of the act. Those would include the award of liquidated damages in cases that fall under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and compensatory damages in discrimination cases. Section 1101(a) of the Foreign Service Act provides the Grievance Board with jurisdiction in cases alleging the violation, misinterpretation, or misapplication of applicable law. Thus Congress has given the Foreign Service Grievance Board the authority to decide grievances under other laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act and the equal employment opportunity laws. It would seem to me that if we have given them the authority to decide grievances under these other laws, that it was our intention that the Board would have the authority to provide the remedies available under those laws.”