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[Pay Adjustment for Supervisors]

B-212581 May 16, 1984
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Highlights

A Forest Service employee appealed the Claims Group's denial of his claim for a retroactive pay adjustment. The employee had filed a claim with the Forest Service contending that he supervised an employee whose pay exceeded his own. This claim was first denied by the Forest Service. However, after the employee submitted an official position description which substantiated his claim, the agency determined that the employee was entitled to an administrative pay increase and backpay beginning the pay period after which the employee certified that his position description was inaccurate. The employee then filed a claim with the Claims Group requesting an adjustment of his retroactive pay for an additional time period. The Claims Group denied the claim because it found that the agency's authority in granting the increase was discretionary rather than mandatory. The employee appealed this ruling contending that the Forest Service did have a mandatory policy with respect to granting such pay increases and that other employees had received retroactive pay adjustments in similar circumstances. GAO found that the allegation of dissimilar treatment was unsubstantiated, and there was no mandatory agency policy requiring the pay adjustment; therefore, the agency acted properly when it did not grant the employee a pay adjustment for the period in question. Accordingly, the Claims Group's denial was sustained. However, since GAO found no administrative error in denying the pay adjustment and no wrongful reduction in the employee's benefits, the adjustment should have been effective the first day of the first pay period following the date the agency determined to make the adjustment. The agency incorrectly set the employee's pay adjustment to the date on which he certified that his position description was inaccurate. Accordingly, the agency should take action to recoup the resulting erroneous overpayments.

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