Skip to main content

Claim of Discharged Military Member for Unpaid Pay and Allowances

B-194481 Feb 15, 1980
Jump To:
Skip to Highlights

Highlights

An individual appealed a GAO decision which denied him pay and allowances for his enlistment in the Navy. The issue was whether an individual whose enlistment was void because it was fraudulent in that the individual was underage might be paid any pay and allowances after a certificate of honorable discharge was issued. The claimant had enlisted in the Navy in 1942 at the age of 12. His enlistment was declared void when his age was discovered 8 months later because he was under the minimum age for enlistment at the time of execution of his enlistment papers and was still underage at the time that fact was discovered. Since the enlistment was considered to be void, the claimant was not paid for accrued pay and allowances or travel allowances. On at least two occasions shortly thereafter, the claimant filed for pay he considered due to him. His requests were denied on the basis of his canceled enlistment. His personnel records indicated that he apparently filed a claim with GAO in 1946. In 1978, the claimant was issued an honorable discharge for his World War II Naval service. Later that year his claim for backpay was received by GAO. The claim was denied on the basis that the claim was first received more than 6 years after the date of his discharge from the service and that the act of issuing the honorable discharge in no way changed the fact that his discharge was by reason of a void enlistment nor did it toll the statute of limitations. The existence of the earlier claim was not known by GAO at the time of this decision. In the incident case, GAO held that the statute of limitations would not apply because of the apparent earlier claim. However, it held that the claimant's enlistment was void due to the under-age enlistment and that the issuance of the honorable discharge did not change the legal effect of the void enlistment. Accordingly, the disallowance of the claim was sustained.

Downloads

GAO Contacts

Office of Public Affairs