[Decision Concerning Army Employee's Claim for Reimbursement for Airline Ticket Purchased With Personal Funds]
Highlights
The Army requested a decision regarding an employee's entitlement to reimbursement for an airline ticket which he paid for with his personal funds. GAO noted that the employee's supervisor advised him to purchase the ticket after he discovered that there was no ticket for him at the airport, because the Army would have incurred a greater expense than the ticket cost if it had forfeited the training fee. GAO held that: (1) the employee's failure to follow correct procedures before purchasing the ticket resulted from the fact that he was not aware that the agency travel office had his ticket until he arrived at the airport; and (2) under the circumstances, the employee had no choice but to purchase the ticket with his own funds. Accordingly, the claim was allowed.