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Claim for Retroactive Temporary Promotion

B-194756 Published: Feb 20, 1980. Publicly Released: Feb 20, 1980.
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Highlights

A Department of Agriculture (USDA) employee questioned the denial of his claim for a retroactive temporary promotion. The employee was designated Acting Director of the U.S. Grain Marketing Research Center from July 1971 to September 1973. He filed a claim with USDA for a retroactive temporary promotion for this period. USDA denied his claim stating that the he was reassigned rather that detailed to the position in question and that the position was not a higher grade position. The employee appealed the administrative disallowance of his claim to GAO. He contended that the decision was based on a description of the position to which he was assigned, not the position of acting director. GAO denied his claim based on the fact that the grade of the position in question was determined primarily by the qualifications of the person appointed to it not the duties of the incumbent. GAO noted that the position which the employee contended that he held was not established until a few weeks before he ended his duties as acting director. It has been held that an employee is entitled to a retroactive temporary promotion when detailed to a higher graded position for more than 120 days. This is applicable only to established positions. Therefore, since the employee's duties ended less than 120 days after the position was established, he did not occupy that position long enough to be entitled to the retroactive promotion.

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