Per Diem and International Date Line Crossing

An advance decision by the Department of Energy was requested concerning an employee's claim covering his official travel from Washington, D.C., to London, Bombay, Hong Kong, and return to Washington, D.C. In his travel voucher the employee claimed eight quarters (2 days) of per diem on the day he crossed the International Date Line, but four quarters were disallowed. It was held that in computing per diem in cases where the traveler crosses the International Date Line (180th meridian), the actual elapsed time must be used rather than calendar days. If an employee travels around the world, a compensating 24-hour adjustment in per diem in addition to the International Date Line adjustment is to be made upon completion of the travel.