[Employee's Claim for Backpay Following Favorable Resolution of Appeal of OPM Unsuitability Determination]

A Navy employee requested a decision on his back pay claim. The claimant, an air traffic controller, resigned his job with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after it notified him that he would be terminated for his participation in a strike. He subsequently applied for a job as a Navy air traffic controller, but the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) determined that he was unsuitable for the position because it involved close contact with FAA personnel. The Merit Systems Protection Board upheld the claimant's grievance and ordered OPM to reverse its determination, after which the Navy hired the claimant, who claimed back pay for the period after the OPM determination. GAO held that the claimant was not entitled to back pay because he was not a federal employee during the period for which he claimed back pay. Accordingly, the claim was denied.