[Request for Reconsideration of Claim for Reimbursement for Relocation Expenses]

A transferred Social Security Administration (SSA) employee requested reconsideration of the SSA determination that he was liable for relocation expenses he incurred incident to the sale of his residence at his former duty station. SSA advised that: (1) under a settlement agreement, it agreed to pay for the transfer-related expenses the employee incurred; (2) it authorized the employee's use of a relocation services contractor; (3) the employee used the service for the purchase of his former residence, and then chose to relocate to another residence he owned at his former duty station; and (4) it then determined that the employee's relocation was not incident to his transfer and refused to pay the relocation costs. The employee contended that the settlement agreement precluded SSA from making a determination that his relocation was not incident to his transfer. GAO held that SSA properly applied the settlement agreement's stipulation that standard change-of-station rules applied to the employee's move in determining that the employee's move was not incident to his transfer. Accordingly, the employee was liable for the expenses.