[Query Concerning Payment of Cash Award Granted Under Employee Incentives Award Act]

The General Counsel of the Defense Mapping Agency requested a decision as to whether a cash award, granted to an employee under the Employee Incentive Awards Act in the period during which he was discriminatorily denied a promotion, must be offset against the backpay which he was awarded under statutory law. GAO held that a cash award granted to an employee during the period of a discriminatory personnel action should not be offset against backpay, since such an offset would contravene the make-whole purposes of the governing statutory law. GAO also stated that, once an incentive award is granted in accordance with implementing regulations, the recipient acquires a vested right to the amount awarded. Accordingly, the employee was entitled to retain the award.