[Request for Reconsideration of Decision Concerning Repromotion]

An Army personnel officer requested reconsideration of a decision that awarded a General Schedule employee a retroactive within-grade increase. The employee was reduced in grade with pay retention when he exercised his right to return to a position in the United States following overseas duty; subsequently, he was repromoted to his former grade and step. At issue is whether the repromotion constitutes an equivalent increase, requiring the commencement of a new waiting period for step increases. Since the decision was handled as a labor relations matter through the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), the Army originally did not file responsive comments with GAO. GAO based its decision on information from NFFE that the employee was eligible for grade retention upon his return to the United States. Subsequent to the original decision, the Army contended that the employee was not entitled to grade retention because the eligibility requirements cited by NFFE do not apply in this case since the demotion was not the result of a reduction-in-force or reclassification process. GAO held that, based on the relevant statutes and regulations, the employee's repromotion while he was receiving pay at a retained rate resulted in an equivalent increase and that a new waiting period for within-grade increases commenced upon the employee's repromotion. Accordingly, the prior decision was reversed.