Guide to Reading the Family Member Employment Report (FAMER)

Index:

• Section 1 – Post Demographics
• Section 2 – Positions Inside the Mission
• Section 3 – Positions Outside the Mission
• Section 4 – General Information
• Section 5 – Contacts

Post Demographics

This section provides the post name (city, country), organization code, and bureau affiliation in the Department. It also includes the date the report was updated by the Community Liaison Office (CLO). Numbers on the right-hand side show the number of adult family members at post and indicate the number currently employed. Other information shown:

• Number of Members of household (MOHs) – See definition below. This number refers only to the MOHs working inside the mission and does not capture if they are working outside the mission or not working at all.
• Bilateral Work Agreement, De Facto Arrangement – Indicates whether there are agreements or arrangements in place that allow family members to work on the local economy.

Positions Inside the Mission

This section is divided in three sub-sections: Filled, Filled but Pending, and Vacant positions.

• Filled is for positions with an AEFM, EFM, or MOH already working on the date of report.
• Filled but Pending is for positions already offered to a person but they are still waiting for a clearance or arrival to the post at the moment of the report.
• Vacant is for an open position on the date of the report for which no candidate has been selected.

Note: Positions listed in the FAMER are as of the reporting date and, thus, are not a guarantee of any permanent employment situation at post.

Hiring Mechanism

The hiring mechanism column indicates the method used to hire someone into a position. The total number of family members in each hiring mechanism is indicated in parentheses.

• FMA – Family Member Appointment. A maximum five-year federal appointment used by the Department of State to hire Appointment Eligible Family Members (AEFMs) overseas. An AEFM appointed on an FMA accrues government service credit as well as retirement, may contribute to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), and subscribe to life insurance and health benefits. An AEFM may also earn non-competitive eligibility (NCE) for domestic Civil Service. Click here for additional information.
• TEMP – The Temporary or “TEMP” hiring mechanism is a one-year, time-limited appointment that counts as government service but does not carry retirement benefits. AEFMs accompanying a career Foreign Service or Civil Service employee are eligible to be hired on a TEMP appointment. TEMP appointments are also used for When Actually Employed (WAE), non-regular work schedules, which have no leave or retirement benefits.
• GS – Civil Service Appointment on General Services pay scale. May be used by other agencies to hire family members at post.
• PSA – Personal Services Agreement. The PSA does not confer retirement benefits or USG service credit. Family members hired on a PSA can earn annual and sick leave. Members of Household (MOHs) hired on a PSA are paid on the American or local compensation plan (as appropriate for their employment status in the host country).
• PSC – Personal Services Contract. Not all US government agencies at overseas posts participate in the PSA program. Some agencies use a similar hiring mechanism called a PSC. USAID and Peace Corps use this mechanism for local hiring purposes. Like the PSA, the PSC is subject to government contracting authorities and does not confer retirement benefits or USG service credit.

Title

This column lists the position title. You will see a variety of titles depending on the number of agencies represented and the size of the U.S. presence in that country.

Expanded Professional Associate Program (EPAP) positions

Current EPAP positions at post are not a guarantee of future positions. Each bureau has only a limited number of EPAP positions they are authorized to fill, and the bureaus determine which positions will be advertised and ultimately filled each recruitment cycle. EFMs and employees should not expect current positions at a post to be re-filled, once an incumbent moves on, when making their bidding decisions. Program information is available on the EPAP website; for questions, contact the EPAP Coordinator at GCLOaskEPAP@state.gov.

Professional Associates Program (PAP) positions

These positions are for AEFMs who are on FMAs and were hired into mid-level officer positions under the Professional Associates Program (PAP), which is also known as the Hard-to-Fill program for Civil Service hires. Due to the specifics of this program, these positions can only be listed as “Filled” or “Filled but Pending.” Please note that this program is separate from the EPAP program. More information on this program can be found by visiting the PAP GCLO webpages.

Agency

This column lists the Agency that funds the position. Many positions at post are funded by ICASS, the International Cooperative Administrative Support Services. ICASS-funded positions are those that serve the entire community at post, including but not limited to the Community Liaison Office (CLO) Coordinator and some general services positions.

Section

This column lists the section within the Embassy in which the position is located.

Grade

This column indicates the pay grade of the position:

• FP – U.S. pay scale and the same as the FS pay scale. Used for AEFMs and EFMs.
• FSN or LCP – the Foreign Service National or Local Compensation Plan. Both indicate a local pay scale.
• GS – U.S. pay scale and the same as the General Services pay scale used in the Civil Service.

Note: The FP pay scale goes from highest (FP-01) to lowest (FP-09). Positions inside the mission typically range from FP-03 to FP-09, with the average salary at the FP-07 level. The GS pay scale goes from lowest (GS-01) to highest (GS-15).

Hours

This column denotes the hours of the position: part-time (PT), full-time (FT) or when actually employed (WAE).

Category

This column is the category of the family member employee:

• Eligible family member (EFM): An individual who meets all of the following criteria is considered to be an EFM for employment purposes (country of citizenship is not a factor):
  1. Is the spouse or domestic partner (as defined in 3 FAM 1610) of a sponsoring employee (as defined in this section); or child of a sponsoring employee under 21 and unmarried, or (regardless of age) unmarried and incapable of self-support; or a parent (including step-parent or legally adoptive parent) or sibling who has been declared as 51% or more dependent on the sponsoring employee;
  2. Is listed on one of the following:
     1. The travel orders of a sponsoring employee who is assigned (not TDY) to a U.S. mission abroad under Chief of Mission authority, or at an office of the American Institute in Taiwan; or
     2. An approved Form OF-126 (Access to MyData required), Foreign Service Residence and Dependency Report (or other agency equivalent), of a sponsoring employee who is assigned (not TDY) to a U.S. mission abroad under Chief of Mission authority, or at an office of the American Institute in Taiwan, and is residing at the sponsoring employee’s post of assignment.
• Appointment eligible family member (AEFM):  An individual who meets all of the following criteria is considered to be an AEFM for employment purposes:
  1. Is a U.S. citizen;
  2. Is the spouse or domestic partner (as defined in 3 FAM 1610) of a sponsoring employee (as defined in this section);
  3. Is listed on one of the following:
     1. Travel orders of a sponsoring employee who is assigned (not TDY) to a U.S. mission abroad under Chief of Mission authority, or at an office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), or
     2. An approved Form OF-126 (Access to MyData required), Foreign Service Residence and Dependency Report (or other agency equivalent), of a sponsoring employee who is assigned (not TDY) to a U.S. mission abroad under Chief of Mission authority, or at an office of the AIT, and is residing at the sponsoring employee’s post of assignment abroad;
  4. Does not receive a U.S. Government retirement annuity or pension from a career in the U.S. Foreign Service or Civil Service;
  5. Is not a Foreign Service Generalist or Specialist in Leave Without Pay (LWOP) status;
  6. Is not a Civil Service employee with re-employment rights to their agency or bureau.
• Member of Household (MOH):  An individual who accompanies or joins a sponsoring employee, i.e., a direct hire employee under chief-of-mission authority, either Foreign Service, Civil Service, or uniformed service member, who is permanently assigned to or stationed abroad at a U.S. mission, or at an office of the American Institute in Taiwan.  A MOH is an individual who meets the following criteria:
  1. Not an EFM and therefore not on the travel orders or approved through Form OF-126 (Access to MyData required), Foreign Service Residence and Dependency Report, of the sponsoring employee; and
  2. Officially declared by the sponsoring U.S. Government employee to the chief of mission (COM) as part of his or her household and approved by the COM (in cases where the COM is sponsoring a MOH, the MOH must be declared to and approved by the regional bureau’s executive director); and
  3. Is a parent, grandparent, grandchild, unmarried partner, adult child, foreign born child in the process of being adopted, father, mother, brother, sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, or half-sister; who falls outside the Department’s current definition of eligible family member 14 FAM 511.3.  A MOH may or may not be a U.S. citizen.  MOHs are by definition cohabitants.  Therefore, if the MOH is not a U.S. citizen, employees who declare MOHs to the COM must ensure compliance with the provisions of 12 FAM 275, Reporting Cohabitation with and/or Intent to Marry a Foreign National.

Positions Outside the Mission

This section provides information on family members employed outside of the embassy or consulate. We encourage all family members to provide their information to the CLO when requested. Please note that outside organizations that have previously hired family members in the past are more likely to consider employing them in the future.

• Category – This column indicates the sector where the family member works. Choices include: Education, Freelance, Home Based Business, International Org, Law, Local Economy, Medical, Military, Other diplomatic missions, PVO/NGO, RECASSN – Recreation Association (positions funded by the employee or recreation association at post), Telework, US Gov – DC, DETO, and Commute to US.
• Title –This column indicates the title of the position.
• Type –This column indicates the type of employment, either full-time, part-time or WAE (While Actually Employed).
• Organization –This column is the full organization name.
• School Type –This column indicates the type of school if the position listed is with an educational institution.

General Information

This section provides an overview of the work permit situation at post and information that is of particular interest to those family members who want to work on the local economy. It also outlines the overall employment situation at post, both in USG and non-USG positions.

Contacts

This section contains the contact information for those individuals or organizations that form the network of resources for family member employment. They include the CLO, post Human Resources Office (HRO), educational institutions, and if applicable, the Global Employment Advisor (GEA) who services the post. It can also include contacts in the local community that have either provided employment to family members or have agreed to be a resource for that purpose.

Notes:

Salary Levels

Inside the mission positions typically range from FP-03 to FP-09, with the average salary at an FP-07 level. For more information consult HR Online, Benefits & Compensations, and current pay schedules. Outside the mission positions are normally paid at the prevailing local salary levels.

Language

Some inside the mission positions may require a certain level of foreign language proficiency. If so, this requirement must be listed among the job requirements of the vacancy announcement. Post will administer the language test. Family members are not paid language differentials. Working on the local economy, you may be required to have sufficient language skills of the host country to perform your work.

Security Clearances

Many positions inside the mission require a security clearance. Security clearances go with the position, not the person. Background investigations are conducted by Diplomatic Security and processing times vary. For more information on security clearances, please visit www.state.gov/security-clearances