Claim for Retroactive Temporary Promotion and Back Pay

A retired civilian employee of the Army Air Defense Center, Fort Bliss, Texas, appealed a settlement by the GAO Claims Division denying her claim for a retroactive temporary promotion and accompanying back pay. The employee stated that for 4.5 years, while classified at GS-7, she performed the duties of a File Procurement Officer, a position classified at a GS-9 rating. During the period of her employment, Army Regulations provided that commanders would designate certain employees classified at GS-9 and above as File Procurement Officers, and the protester was so designated although her GS-7 rating should have disqualified her. Midway through the period, the employee's job description was rewritten as the result of a desk audit to include the position of File Procurement Officer, but the position was not upgraded. The employee definitely performed the duties of the position, but whether that job was a level above her GS-7 classification was a decision for the Civil Service Commission (CSC) or the Civilian Personnel Office to make. The CSC has full and final responsibility for all position classifications. Employees are only entitled to the salaries of their assigned positions, regardless of the duties performed; thus, the employee could not be eligible for a higher salary until her position was reclassified and she was appointed to it, in spite of the contrary Army Regulation. Accordingly, the Claims Division's settlement was sustained, disallowing the employee's claim.