Claim for Restoration of Annual Leave

An employee of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) appealed a Claims Group decision recommending against the employees buying back annual leave under workers' compensation provisions. The employee used his annual and sick leave to recuperate from a work-related injury. After the employee's workers' compensation claim was approved, he requested the advice of FBI regarding his ability to buy back and reinstate his annual leave. The agency reconstructed the employee's leave accounts and determined that repurchase of his annual leave would cause him to exceed the annual leave ceiling and advised the employee that the the repurchased annual leave would be subject to forfeiture. The employee contended that annual leave bought back by him would not be subject to the forfeiture rule because an administrative error caused him to lose annual leave during the period in question. GAO held that the exceptions to the forfeiture rule were not applicable in a situation involving the buy back of annual leave. Thus, any annual leave bought back by the employee and subsequently forfeited would not be eligible for restoration. Accordingly, the claim was denied.