Hi

I have some questions about overseas contractors working in a warzone for a US Government contract (State Dept) and employed by a US Company.

Does anyone have any information on labor laws pertaining to us here in Afghanistan? I heard that we fall under the Base Defense Act and that ALL US labor laws (federal) apply to us just as if we were in the US.

To give some examples of why we are confused about labor laws:
We pay taxes (new development beginning 1 Jan 09)
We have worker's compensation rights
We follow OSHA rules/regulations (signs up saying, "It's the Law")

I am a ranking supervisor and I feel the HQ in Kabul is picking on one of my guys for no apartant reason; other than they just don't like him. He has NEVER been written up (not a single negative thing in writing) however; he has been promoted and received several letters of commendations.

To explain :

Background:
He was once the victim of a false anonymous complaint which resulted in a "not-sustained" finding. He was not written up, just verbally warned that he was "a marked target" [his supervisor admitted that people were spreading rumors about him when they heard he was promoted and going to that location...but failed to investigate or manage the rumors]. After the complaint, he was transferred due to being a "target of aggression." But, he was not being moved for cause and thus there was nothing in writing regarding to why he was being moved; just "mission essential."

After the transfer, a Deputy Commander in Kabul re-opened the investigation regarding the anonymous complaint. His supervisor at the time refused to provide any further details because the case was closed. It was related to me (via phone call) that someone in Kabul "has it out for him."

At my location, he has proven himself to be the subject matter expert on new reporting procedures and is an effective supervisor. His reports are always without error and always on time. He spends time helping new employees and will burn the midnight oil working to ensure things are on time and running smoothly. He supervised 30 employees and one of them resigned after being ordered (by MY supervisor) to go on a mission that the employee felt was dangerous). When that employee was out processing in Kabul, he said that it was because of his supervisor (my employee) that he was leaving, but refused to write anything down (but related to me that it was because of the mission- which has nothing to do with his supervisor).

He once swore in front of a local national employee (F word--"That's F-in ridiculous" This was said in relation to an order from the Local that would have put one of his subordinates in harms way needlessly). A complaint was filed by the local and my guy was verbally counseled by myself. That wasn't enough. The HQ in Kabul (we are in another city) wanted him to step down as a supervisor. When he refused, they asked him to resign, "Or else." I instructed him to not because the situation had already been dealt with at my level. He stuck to his guns and it got worse. At least 3-4 times the highest ranking manager in this region asked him to step down claiming "it would only get worse." My guy was smart enough to get one of these conversations on tape. The HQ in Kabul stated that there were "other complaints that were anonymous and at least one more that was secret." When I asked about the nature of the complaints or when HQ wanted me to interview my guy, I was told to "stay out of it. It'll be handled at our level." Our company policy on complaints/investigations is that each accused employee will be afforded the opportunity to respond in writing regarding the accusation and with a supervisor present. This was never offered to my guy. Furthermore, I was "strongly advised to stay out of it." My guy was transferred from a position where he had 30 employees under him to a position where he only had 4 employees. He went along with the move quietly and performed his functions perfectly.

[As a comparison, my guy is always called in to support and assist the man that replaced him. That guy has since had 26 written complaints against him, yet he is still here and still in the same job.]

To add insult to injury-- since we are a US State Dept contractor, there are always over-sight people that come to pay us a visit to learn and assess our actions. At the highest level of my organization, my guy is known as the man that is the subject matter expert in a new assessment reporting area and has developed a tracking system that quantifies the results of the assessment. He was "asked" to brief the US Ambassador to Afghanistan on this system which was warmly accepted. I tell him all the time that he is a valuable asset to the organization and continuously apologize for the actions of those above me. He continues to do his job without delay.

He recently went on emergency leave back to the US to care for an ailing father. It was a very quick trip-- 7 days (takes 2 days to travel). He returned to work quickly (could have stayed 12 days). Because of this trip, he only had 5 days of authorized un-paid leave. He submitted a travel form indicating he wanted to take 4 days of leave in Jan. After he submitted that approved form, he realized he miscalculated his days and submitted another amended form (approved by me). The amended form was denied based on the fact that our travel department had already purchased his airline ticket. He even offered to pay the difference in ticket costs associated with the change. The request was denied. This is completely contradictory to the written policy. The policy states that the travel dept will get approval from the employee prior to purchasing a ticket, thus allowing a chance for changes.

He filed a written complaint and was told in writing that he failed to work with travel on his itinerary and that he was offered a chance to pay the $67 difference, but he chose not to. This is a complete and utter lie.

I want to help my guy. This to me, is obvious that he is the target of someone's aggression. This is such a petty deal and I cannot believe it has gone this far. One of the managers in Kabul said today, "he has been here for 2 years and if he doesn't know the policy then he shouldn't be here." ??? I am taken aback. He can't win.

According to the information I provided... what recourses (IF ANY) would you suggest? My guy has 3 months left on his contract and he is not renewing it because of this stuff.

Thanks for your time and I hope it adequately explains the situation.

YOUR THOUGHTS ARE EXTREMELY APPRECIATED!!!

That is a lot to wade through. The gist seems to be that there is a guy in your team that you feel is being treating unfairly. That isn't illegal. None of what you described is illegal. Having worked for an NGO that had offices in Afghanistan (and elsewhere) I'm familiar with the state department rules and regulations.


If he is under an actual contract, which is fairly rare, then the organization is bound by the terms of that agreement. Anything else is fair game, so long as those terms are met. How to put this diplomatically...... Having been on the other side of the pond and desk, I greatly suspect there is more going on with this guy than you are aware of. You might think he is fabulous and he may be very good at certain aspects of his job, but that isn't always the whole picture. Very often there are things that aren't shared with others in the field, and for some very good reasons. Having recruited for the region, folks aren't exactly lining up and beating down the doors to work there, at least not those who an organization would want to hire. There is also a certain senitivity when an employee is half a world away and most organizations tend to err on the side of caution as false steps and mavericks can have much more severe results there than here. I don't know either your employee (at least I'll assume I don't know him) nor you (again, I assume). My impression is that there is a lot more going on behind the scenes and even if they just don't like this guy for some reason, it isn't illegal so long as they are following the actual contract if there is one. It is however, very very rare for these types of positions. The State Department also retains a LOT of latitude in employment matters for both diplomatic staff as well as contractors. The Ambassador is not the authority on these matters.

I'm not sure how any of this related to the DBA, but it depends largely on how you are funded. Are you grant funded? If so, you do not fall under the DBA. If you are funded through other means, you may. The DBA if it applies, if fairly limited in scope and does not cover nearly all you believe it does. Most US employment laws are not extra-territorial. you can read more about the DBA here http://www.dol.gov/esa/owcp/dlhwc/DBAFaqs.htm

Having been on the other side of the pond and desk, I greatly suspect there is more going on with this guy than you are aware of. You might think he is fabulous and he may be very good at certain aspects of his job, but that isn't always the whole picture.

The DBA if it applies, if fairly limited in scope and does not cover nearly all you believe it does. Most US employment laws are not extra-territorial. you can read more about the DBA here http://www.dol.gov/esa/owcp/dlhwc/DBAFaqs.htm

Hmmm, you sound the guys in Kabul.

First of all, you're right, there might more going on other than they simply don't like him. Although I doubt it. This company has a great track record for writing people up and documenting poor behavior. Again, he has nothing to justify their actions. I never pretended to think there was a violation of law. I am trying to understand rules and regulations pertaining to labor law for contractors. I know in some states, this would not be tolerated, but we are not in a state. I take issue with the "it's okay because there is no violation of law" excuse that is routinely thrown at me by people.

Secondly, I never mentioned what I think I know about the DBA, so please don't assume you know what I'm thinking. Simple answers is all I am looking for.

Simple answers are not always possible for complicated problems.

You implied that ALL US laws should apply to you under the DBA and that is simply not the case. What you describe would also not be illegal in the US.

As for your employee, the odds that several high ranking folks have all decided at the same time to randomly dislike someone and make their life miserable for no apparent reason is remote. Why would they want to chase off someone who is a good solid employee? There is just no motivation. It is a lot of work to document problems and deal with these types of situations when justified. It just isn't logical that they would do this if there is no reason for it. I suppose anything is possible but not very likely. There also isn't anything you can do to change their minds or make them like this guy. You can share the positive things he has done but if their minds are made up that this guy trouble, that may not be enough.