[Decision Concerning OSHA Employee's Salary Increase]

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Denver Regional Office requested a review of the Department of Labor's (DOL) Regional Personnel Office's decision regarding an OSHA employee's within-grade salary increase. OSHA advised that: (1) the employee's supervisor intended the effective date of the increase to correspond with his next within-grade increase so that the employee could receive two step increases instead of one; and (2) it should be allowed to grant the employee a retroactive within-grade increase. DOL contended that there was no administrative error, since it processed the action as requested and it met all legal and regulatory requirements. GAO held that the mistake was not an administrative error that would justify a retroactive salary increase. Accordingly, OSHA may not retroactively correct the effective date of the employee's within-grade salary increase.