Request for Reimbursement of Expenses Incurred While on Sick Leave

While stationed in Australia, a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy was assigned to temporary additional duty at an Army medical center in Hawaii for medical treatment, and was ordered to return to his duty station in Australia upon completion of the medical treatment. A week after his surgery, the Navy member was authorized sick leave for 30 days with the restriction that he was not to leave Hawaii. During this period of recuperation, the Navy member allegedly did not realize that the leave would be at his own expense or that he had an option to remain at the hospital until able to return to his duty station. His claim for reimbursement for lodging and subsistence expenses was denied, and he appealed the settlement of his claim. GAO sustained the denial of the Navy member's claim. His status while on sick leave was not unlike that of a member on liberty or pass, and the government has no obligation to pay the expenses of a military member while on liberty or a pass. Although the Navy member may not have been notified by the hospital that leave would be taken at his own expense or that he had the option to remain at the hospital, he should have known what his rights or benefits were, or he should have made an inquiry on his own if he was in doubt. Since he was not obligated to take sick leave, he was not entitled to lodging and subsistence expense reimbursement.