Request for Retroactive Salary Adjustment

An employee of the Department of the Army appealed the Claims Division settlement which denied his claim for a retroactive salary increase. The record showed that the Army requested that the employee be hired at a higher grade. It appeared that the request to hire the employee at the special step was due to the lack of applicants for the position involved; and, in order to attract physicians with the competency required for the position, it was necessary to hire at a higher rate of salary. Due to an oversight, the Army failed to submit a timely request to the Civil Service Commission to have the employee certified for the appointment at the GS classification level and to obtain approval to hire at the higher grade. Accordingly, the employee was given temporary appointment to the lower grade. Upon receipt of the Commission's certification, the employee's appointment was converted to the higher grade. The Commission advised the Army that the salary adjustment could not be made effective before the date of the Commission's action. GAO held that an agency has no authority under Federal regulations to appoint an employee at a rate above the minimum rate of the grade prior to obtaining the approval of the Commission. The failure of an agency to request such approval in a timely manner is neither a violation of a nondiscretionary administrative regulation or policy nor a deprivation of a right granted by statute or regulation. Accordingly, the Claims Division's disallowance of the employee's claim was sustained.