[Claim for Overtime Compensation for Travel Time Outside of Regular Duty Hours]

A former Navy employee appealled a decision which disallowed his claim for overtime compensation over a 7-year period. GAO noted that: (1) the Navy disallowed the claim because the claimant's travel to and from his duty station was outside his regular duty hours and did not meet the conditions for overtime compensation; (2) any claim against the government must be received within 6 years of the date the claim first accrued; and (3) the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) also received the claim and determined, in part, that the employee was nonexempt from coverage under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). GAO held that: (1) since the claimant did not notify it of his overtime pay claim before the 6-year limit, the claim was barred; (2) OPM did not have final authority to adjudicate claims or settle accounts under FLSA; and (3) since the time the employee spent travelling to and from his official duty station, outside his regular duty hours, was not an inherent part of his work, it was not compensable as overtime. Accordingly, the claim was denied.