Pay Retention Rights

A Federal employee claimed that the Department of Labor erroneously adjusted a pay increase that the employee received while entitled to basic pay retention rights. The agency, after recognizing that the employee received a pay increase based on the former and higher grade, adjusted the employee's salary to reflect a pay raise applicable to the present and lower grade. The claim against the corrective action was that the employee accepted the voluntary downgrading on the assumption that previous-grade pay increases would be applicable to the lower grade. GAO maintained that the employee was not entitled to these pay increases since the law providing for pay retention limits increases to one-half of the amount of each increase in the maximum rate of basic pay payable for the grade of the employee's new position if the allowable former rate exceeds the maximum rate for such grade. Since pay retention rights are prescribed by statute, the employee is not entitled to receive additional compensation because of a mistaken assumption as to the extent of pay retention rights. GAO concluded that the agency properly adjusted the employee's pay.