Claim for Reimbursement for Relocation Expenses

An appeal was submitted of a claims group settlement which disallowed a claim for reimbursement of certain relocation expenses including those for travel, tranportation of household goods, and purchase and sale of residences. The Claims Group had stated that expenses incurred more than 6 years prior to the receipt of the claim in its office were barred by statutory limitations. It disallowed the real estate expenses on the basis that reimbursement of such expenses is not authorized for a transfer from overseas. It also disallowed the transportation claim for a piano since there was no evidence that the piano was owned by the employee. The appeal maintained that GAO should consider the payment of those expenses which were incurred more than 6 years prior to the receipt of the claim by GAO, because no basis existed upon which to file the claim until an amendment to the original travel orders which occurred 2 years later. GAO has held that backpay claims accrue at the time that work is performed and that the 6-year barring act begins to run at that time. However, when a claim is based on another agency's determination of the validity of the claim, GAO has held that the claim does not accrue, for the purposes of the barring act, until the designated agency makes its determination. Since any claim the employee had incident to the move must have accrued under an appeals authority decision in 1978, and his claim was filed with GAO in 1980, it was not barred by the statute of limitations. As a result of an improper personnel action, the employee was denied certain travel and transportation allowances which he would have received but for the improper personnel action. Those allowances could be paid under the Back Pay Act with the exception of a travel claim for a daughter that could not be allowed as she was over the age to qualify as a dependent child at the time of the travel. Since ownership of the piano was proved, the claim for its transportation could be allowed. Since real estate expenses may be paid only when both the old and new official stations are located within the United States, the employee did not qualify for these allowances. However, temporary quarters subsistence expenses could be paid for the 10-day period for which it was claimed. A settlement was issued on this basis.