Request for Waiver of Erroneous Overpayment of Post Differential

An employee requested reconsideration of the denial of his request for waiver of his indebtedness to the United States for erroneous overpayments of post differential pay. The reconsideration was directed toward the purpose and operative effect of the 3-year limitation period in the United States Code which states that if an application for waiver is received in the Office of the Comptroller General after the expiration of the 3 years immediately following the date on which the erroneous payment of pay was discovered, the Comptroller General or the head of the agency may not exercise his authority to waive any claim. The employee contended that this provision extends to the recovery of the debt as well as the application for waivers, and if the Comptroller General could not exercise his authority after 3 years, then recovery of the overpayment was also barred after 3 years. The employee asked if the denial of waiver in his case foreclosed any rights he may have had to petition for relief under two other statutes. Although the overpayment resulted from administrative error without any indication of fraud or misrepresentation on the part of the employee, he knew or should have known that he had received overpayment, and did not notify agency officials of the matter. The waiver request was properly considered by the GAO Claims Division under the 3-year limitation because the date of discovery is the controlling date in determining the timeliness of th application for waiver. Regarding the employee's right to petition for relief under other statues, a request for waiver under these statutes must be directed to the head of the agency concerned. The agency recommended denial of the waiver under one statute, but had not expressed any views concerning its position on waiver under the other statute. Therefore, the employee retained the right to request a waiver of the overpayment under that provision from the agency. The denial of the employee's request for waiver of the claim of the United States against him was sustained.