[Claim for Mileage Reimbursement]

In response to a request from the Peace Corps, GAO rendered an advance decision regarding an employee's claim for mileage reimbursement which was previously disallowed by a certifying officer. The employee had been transferred from San Francisco to Minneapolis and had chosen to drive via the more southerly route, rather than the more direct route on the advice of an the automobile association which informed him of inclement weather conditions forecast for the more direct route. GAO has held that a traveler may be paid for mileage in excess of that shown on mileage tables between authorized points of travel upon adequate explanation for the deviation. In this case, the automobile association's cartographics division informed GAO that a recommendation not to use the direct route during the winter months is standard advice. GAO concluded that the threat of adverse conditions on this route constituted a sufficient reason for choosing the alternate route. However, since the claimant also deviated from the usually traveled southerly route, GAO stated that he may be paid a mileage allowance representing the difference between the direct route and the southerly route, but not for the additional deviation from the southerly route.