Travel Expenses and Erroneous Transfer

An employee of the General Services Administration (GSA) claimed travel expenses for work at a permanent duty station to which he had been improperly transferred because of his agency's failure to follow reduction-in-force (RIF) procedures. When his claim was denied, the employee appealed the decision. The facts of the case indicated that the claimant was employed at the GSA Regional Office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When his position was abolished as the result of agency reorganization, the employee accepted an offer of a transfer to Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, he continued to maintain his family residence in New Jersey. He worked in Washington for approximately 8 months, and Washington was considered his workplace. It was held that the employee was not entitled to travel expenses at the new duty station, since there was no doubt that GSA intended Washington to be his new permanent duty station at the time of his transfer. Accordingly, the previous settlement denying the claim was sustained.