Claim for Retroactive Temporary Promotion With Backpay for Extended Detail

An employee appealed the determination that he was not entitled to a retroactive temporary promotion with backpay for an extended detail to a higher-graded position. The claim was denied by the agency on the ground that there was no evidence that the duties he performed were classified at a higher grade than the one he held; GAO disallowed the claim. The employee requested reconsideration stating that the position to which he was detailed was a new position, and that some of the duties of the position were previously performed by a GS-12 employee and subsequently by a GS-13 employee. Nothing in the record indicated that the position was an established and classified position at any grade level. GAO has consistently held that in order to receive backpay for an extended detail, the detail must have been to a position that was officially established and classified at a higher grade. Since no evidence existed that the position to which the employee was detailed was officially established as a GS-11, GS-12, or GS-13 position, the disallowance of his claim was sustained.