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Request for Advance Decision

B-196397 Oct 28, 1980
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Highlights

The Air Force presented the following questions for an advance decision: (1) may a Service, with the member's consent, withhold from pay due the member prior to an early separation, a reasonable portion of the amount expected to become due to the United States because of paid but unearned bonuses and advance leave; and (2) is it legally permissible to compute advance leave that becomes excess leave because of an early separation, at the rates in effect at separation rather than at the rates in effect at the time of the advance leave. As to withholding current pay with the member's consent to cover an anticipated debt, while there is no specific statutory authority for such a procedure, there is authority for members to make voluntary allotments or assignments of their pay. Thus, GAO would not object to the procedure proposed by the first question. With regard to computing the amount of excess leave at the pay rates in effect at separation rather than at the rates in effect at the time the leave was used, a statute and regulations require that collection will be computed based on the pay and allowances actually received by the member during the period of leave involved. The statute makes it clear that the applicable rate to compute excess leave is that which the member received at the time the advance leave was taken.

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