Request for Waiver of Indebtedness

An overseas employee of the Department of the Army appealed a GAO Claims Group denial of his request for waiver of an overpayment he received as a result of an administrative error. The employee was inadvertently added to the computer list to receive a post allowance. Since he was a civilian employee, he was not entitled to this allowance. The employee stated that he was unable to keep track of his pay because of his hectic work schedule. However, the earnings were noted on his statement of earnings with each paycheck. The Claims Group held that the employee should have been aware of the overpayment since it did cause an increase in the amount of his pay. GAO could not determine that this finding was based on unreasonable assumptions. Since the employee did not offer any further proof to support his request, GAO held that there was not sufficient evidence to support the granting of a waiver. Accordingly, the waiver was denied, and the judgment of the Claims Group was sustained.