Request for Reconsideration of Retroactive Pay Adjustment

Reconsideration was requested of a Claims Group settlement which denied a claim for a retroactive adjustment of an employee's rate of pay. The employee was appointed to a position at an agency after resigning from another federal agency where he had been employed at a salary commensurate with a higher position. The employee claimed that, in the light of his former federal and military service, his pay should have been set at a higher rate in his present grade. Agency regulations provide that, where an appointment is to the same or a lower grade and the employee's prior service is not directly applicable to the reemployed position, the appointing official shall determine an appropriate salary based on the employee's previous service and employment qualifications. The agency assigned the employee a grade which was related to his agency duties, but not his prior experience or education. He was offered a position at a lower grade level to enable him to gain the necessary background to perform at the full working level of a higher grade. GAO held that, since the agency determined that the employee was qualified for an appointment at the higher grade based on his experience and education and agency regulations limited the appointing officer to examining the employee's previous service and employment qualifications, the employee was entitled to a retroactive adustment of his initial compensation upon appointment. Accordingly, the employee's compensation should be retroactively set at a step equal to the higher grade.