Waiver of Overpayment of Pay

An employee appealed the denial of his request for waiver of an erroneous payment. The overpayment resulted from the employee being granted a within-grade increase prior to the completion of the prescribed waiting period between step increases. The employee contended that the Claims Division was, in effect, holding him responsible for the correct performance of the duties of his agency's personnel office and that if the previous decision had been rendered in a more timely manner he could have repaid the amount from his salary instead of his retirement annuity. It was also requested that, if full waiver could not be granted, the amount of the overpayment be reduced by the amount withheld for Federal income taxes. The agency report concluded that the employee, who had a long service record, should have been aware of the waiting period requirements and should have made an inquiry about the irregular increase. GAO agreed with the agency and held that the employee was not without fault in the matter. While the employee's current financial situation may be taken into consideration in arranging a payment schedule for the amount due, it may not serve as a basis for waiver. In response to the request for reduction of the overpayment, GAO cited legislation which requires that any withholding errors which occur in a prior calendar year or are discovered after the employee is no longer on the payroll, be pursued by the employee with the Internal Revenue Service. Accordingly, the previous decision was sustained.