Local Employment Policy Handbook - ICASS

MEMBERS OF HOUSEHOLD (MOH)
Refs: A. 3 FAM 4180; B. 12 FAM 442; C. 00 State 242724
Member of Household (MOH) – An individual who accompanies a direct-hire Foreign,
Civil, or uniformed service member permanently assigned to a Mission and under COM
authority, or at an office of the American Institute in Taiwan. An MOH is:
• Not an EFM (See 14 FAM 511.3); and,
• Not on the travel orders of the sponsoring employee; and,
• Officially declared by the sponsoring USG employee to the COM as part of
his/her household.
An MOH is under COM authority and may include a parent, unmarried partner, or other
relative or adult child who falls outside the Department’s current legal and statutory
definition of family member. A MOH may or may not be a U.S. Citizen.
Employment Mechanism and Residency Determination
A Personal Services Agreement (PSA) is the employment mechanism for all MOHs for State and
participating agencies under COM authority that have signed the PSA MOA.
Agencies under COM authority that haven’t signed the PSA MOA must provide their own employment
mechanism. But the hiring must still comply with the Local Employment Policy (LEP), that is, if
Ordinarily Resident (OR), then compensation is under the Local Compensation Plan (LCP); if Not
Ordinarily Resident (NOR), then compensation is under an American pay plan.
Compensation for a MOH depends on the official status in country. Most MOHs are Ordinarily Resident
with compensation under the Local Compensation Plan. This is because in most countries, the MOH
needs either a work permit, residency permit, or both a work permit and a residency permit to be legally
eligible for employment. These documents put the MOH under local labor law. So the appropriate
residency determination must be Ordinarily Resident with compensation under the LCP.
If the Member of Household is a citizen of the host country, the residency determination must
be Ordinarily Resident. Therefore, HR hires the MOH under a PSA with compensation and benefits
under the LCP.
HR is encouraged to contact the International HR Manager in HR/OE/HRM for guidance and
confirmation of residency issues, especially if HR believes MOHs are NOR, as these instances are rare.
Non-US Citizen MOHs that are NORs must have a US Social Security Number.