Claim for Retroactive Temporary Promotion and Backpay

An employee of the Department of the Army requested reconsideration of an earlier decision which denied his claim for a retroactive temporary promotion and backpay. The employee alleged that he had performed the duties of a position before it became an official position and that he should receive backpay and a retroactive promotion relative to that performance. The Army denied that claim and found that the employee could not be compensated for performing duties of a position that did not exist at the time the duties were being performed. The claim was also denied by GAO on the basis that the position to which the employee was allegedly detailed had not been established and classified to a grade or pay level during the period claimed for backpay. The employee offered a range of documentary evidence and analysis which purported to show that the position in question was in fact classified and established at the GS-14 level during the period of his claim. The obvious result is a dispute of fact between the Army and the employee. The administrative record supports the agency's finding that the position in question was not officially established during the period of the claim. Accordingly, the previous disallowance of the claim was sustained.