[Reconsideration of Claim for Forfeited Annual Leave]

A former employee of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) appealed a Claims Group settlement which denied his request for restoration of and a lump-sum payment for forfeited annual leave. The employee forfeited annual leave which he was scheduled to take at the end of the year because he was suspended from duty while under indictment for falsifying IRS documents. The Claims Group affirmed the IRS determination that the employee, who was terminated under these circumstances, could not be reimbursed for annual leave. GAO held that, where a forfeiture of annual leave is caused by an exigency of the public business or an administrative error, the lost hours may be restored to the employee. Since neither exception was relevant to this case, the Claims Group decision which denied the former employee restoration of the lost hours was affirmed.