Request for Waiver of Overpayment of Pay

A civilian employee of the Department of the Army at Fort Meade, Maryland, appealed the denial of his original request for waiver of the claim against him for erroneous overpayments of pay. Due to a reduction in force (RIF), the employee was reduced in grade with retained pay for 2 years from the date of assignment. Four months later on the date of his actual last equivalent increase, he was repromoted to his original grade and step. As a result of a misinterpretation of Civil Service regulations pertaining to "last equivalent increase" by Army personnel, he was given a within-grade increase 7 months later. The waiting period was mistakenly measured from the employee's previous equivalent increase without taking into consideration the RIF. The mistake was discovered almost 2 years later. The Army contended that the employee should have recognized the error and notified the Army. GAO held that no indication of fraud, misrepresentation, or lack of good faith was exhibited by the employee. The question then became whether the lack of knowledge by the employee could be considered an imputable indication of fault on his part. GAO held that the employee could not have reasonably been expected to have been aware of the effect of the RIF on the waiting period for step increases, especially since officials of various personnel offices have had difficulty in ascertaining the law in this area. Accordingly, the collection of the overpayment was waived.