Entitlement to Severance Pay

A Federal employee appealed the disallowance of his claim for severance pay incident to his separation from the National Park Service due to lack of funds. The claimant was employed by another agency under a career-conditional appointment, and voluntarily transferred to the National Park Service to accept an excepted appointment with a time limitation. The employee argued that he was not given a 30-day notice of separation from the Park Service, and that this error may have had an impact on his entitlement to severance pay. An employee serving under an appointment with a definite time limitation is not entitled to severance pay; therefore, the alleged agency error had no bearing on the employee's claim. Federal regulations state that entitlement to severance pay occurs when the termination of an appointment results from an involuntary separation. Because the employee voluntarily transferred to the Park Service to accept an appointment with a time limitation, he was not entitled to severance pay, since his separation from his previous appointment was not involuntary. Accordingly, the disallowance of the employee's claim was sustained.