Claim for Recredit of Annual Leave and Reimbursement of Per Diem

Six Air Force employees appealed Claims Group determinations which denied their requests for the recredit of annual leave and reimbursement of per diem while they were away from their temporary duty station. The employees' orders authorized annual leave for the employees to visit European countries during the observation of a national holiday at their temporary duty station, when the foreign government's offices at which they worked would be closed. Other employees on the project who remained at their temporary duty station during the holiday were placed on administrative leave and drew per diem because they were denied access to their work areas. When these cases were originally considered by the Claims Group, it was not clear that the facilities were closed during the holiday, nor was it known that the employees who remained at the temporary duty station were placed on administrative leave. Since the facility where the employees worked was closed and the employees could not perform any work related to their mission during that period, Air Force regulations preclude charging the employees for annual leave for the days when the facility was closed. Since the employees were not in a leave status preceding or directly following the holiday period, their entitlement to per diem continued throughout the holiday period, no matter where they spent their time. Accordingly, the Claims Group's disallowance of the claims was reversed.