[Appeal of Disallowed Claim for Position Reclassification and Backpay]

A former Forest Service employee appealed the Claims Group's denial of his claim for backpay incident to the allegedly improper classification of his position. The claimant contended that, for the 12 years before the Office of Personnel Management reclassified his position, he was performing substantially the same duties as he was after the position was reclassified. GAO held that: (1) the portion of the claim that accrued more than 6 years before GAO received it was barred; (2) the Supreme Court has held that improper position classification creates no right to backpay; and (3) the claimant was not entitled to backpay under applicable law. Accordingly, the claim was denied.