[Request for Decision Concerning Claim for Travel Expenses and Overtime Compensation]

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) requested a decision on an employee's claim for temporary duty allowances incident to his transfer to a new permanent duty station pending the resolution of his grievance on a prior improper transfer. The employee also claimed overtime compensation for the time he spent performing relocation travel on a nonworkday. The basis for the first claim was that BATF violated its own grievance policy in not issuing a decision on his grievance within 90 days. GAO held that it does not have jurisdiction over matters involving the processing of grievances. Further, since the contracting agency did not find the reassignment improper, the employee was not entitled to temporary duty allowances. GAO also noted that the employee's travel claim resulted from a situation beyond the contracting agency's control; therefore, BATF was not liable for overtime compensation. Accordingly, the claim was not allowed.