Restoration of Forfeited Annual Leave

A Federal employee requested reconsideration of an adjudication denying his claim for restoration of annual leave. The employee was assigned to the United States for long-term training from an overseas duty post. The annual leave ceiling shown on the employee's statement of earnings and leave was not adjusted by the agency to reflect the lower ceiling applicable to employees assigned to duty in the United States. Following an agency audit, however, the employee's annual leave amount was adjusted to reflect the lower ceiling. The employee claimed that his full leave amount should be restored because the incorrect ceiling was an administrative error and he did not have an opportunity to use the leave due to an exigency of the public business. An agency's mere failure to advise an employee of his correct annual leave ceiling does not constitute an administrative error providing a basis for restoration of leave. In addition, statutes provide that annual leave must be scheduled in advance in order for restoration to be made, even where extenuating circumstances exist. GAO was unable to find that the employee was entitled to restoration of leave on the basis of either administrative error or under statutory public exigency provisions. Accordingly, the prior adjudication was sustained.