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Request for Reconsideration

B-196180 Feb 17, 1981
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Highlights

An employee of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) requested reconsideration of a previous decision which determined that the employee was entitled to backpay. The employee was denied backpay at a higher-grade level since the position to which he was detailed was reclassified prior to the employee's eligibility date for promotion to that grade. The record showed that, as a result of a major reorganization, the position description to which the employee contended he was detailed was abolished. The agency contended that the employee should have been required to demonstrate that he performed the grade controlling duties of the new position as required by the realigned functions. However, the employee contended that the reorganization was a paper reorganization and that the new position description was not implemented by EDA until 3 months later. GAO held that an Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Bulletin delegated authority to agencies to detail employees to higher-grade positions without prior OPM approval for up to 1 year during major reorganizations and for up to 240 days in other situations. Therefore, whether the employee was detailed after the reorganization was immaterial since the Bulletin gave EDA the authority to detail the employee to a higher-grade position under the Bulletin's provisions. Accordingly, the employee's claim for temporary promotion and backpay after the reorganization date for the higher grade level was nullified. Additionally, the termination date of the employee's entitlement to backpay and temporary promotion at the lower level was modified to the date of the agency's reorganization.

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