[Claim for Temporary Promotion Incident to Overlong Detail]

An Army employee claimed entitlement to backpay and a retroactive temporary promotion incident to several allegedly overlong details. The employee based his claim on prior GAO decisions which held that employees who were detailed to higher graded positions for more than 120 days without prior Office of Personnel Management (OPM) approval were entitled to temporary promotions beginning on the 121st day. OPM has since delegated authority to agencies to detail employees up to 240 days without prior OPM appoval. To support his position, the employee submitted an agency regulation concerning temporary promotions in cases of overlong details. Recently, GAO reviewed and decided to follow a U.S. Court of Claims decision in which it was held that neither the applicable statute nor the Federal Personnel Manual authorizes a retroactive temporary promotion and backpay in cases involving overlong details. The agency regulation submitted by the employee provided no basis for allowing his claim. Rather than set forth a nondiscretionary agency policy with regard to temporary promotions, it merely outlines the holdings of the previous GAO decisions. Accordingly, the employee's claim for a retroactive temporary promotion and backpay was denied.