[Decision Concerning Restoration of Annual and Sick Leave to SES Member]

The Department of Commerce requested an opinion on whether it should restore annual and sick leave to a career Senior Executive Service (SES) member for the period he served in an appointed position. GAO held that: (1) existing regulations allowed a political appointee the option of electing SES benefits or continuing receipt of annual and sick leave; and (2) Commerce's failure to properly counsel the employee on the options available to him constituted an unwarranted personnel action. Accordingly, Commerce should retroactively restore the leave the employee would have earned.