Travel and Relocation Expenses

An authorized certifying officer of the Fish and Wildlife Service requested an advance decision concerning an employee's claim for over $2,000 in travel and relocation expenses incurred in his transfer from Cali, Colombia to Sandusky, Ohio. The employee was entitled to reimbursement directly connected with his change of duty station, but his retroactively amended travel orders were without legal effect. Nor can an employee returning from overseas assignment claim house-hunting or real estate expenses. The employee's claim to reimbursement for temporary quarters and subsistence expenses involved a period exceeding the 30-day maximum allowable, and cannot be permitted. The employee also claimed home leave upon his return from overseas, a privilege not extended unless an employee is to be reassigned overseas. The route chosen by the employee, including visits to Maryland, Florida, California, Colorado, and Connecticut, was indirect and required excess travel time for personal convenience. Rather than crediting the employee with this travel time, the agency should deduct the time spent from his annual leave.