Sum Due to Employee for Per Diem in Lieu of Subsistence During the Period of March 14 through April 11, 1959

This decision involves determination of per diem issuance to a civilian employee. GAO determined that the general rule is that when a civilian employee is permanently transferred to a place at which he already is performing duty and continues on duty there pursuant to competent offers, the transfer is effective upon the date he received official notice thereof. But if an employee is transfered to a place where he is not on temporary duty, his post of duty changes on the date he actually arrives and enters on duty at the new station in compliance with the orders effecting such transfer. In this case, the employee's transfer was not contemplated to take effect until April 12, 1959. The record does not show on what date the employee proceeded to Washington with his family pursuant to the transfer order. The fact that he may have received notice of the proposed transfer while on temporary duty at Washington, however, did not change the effective date thereof since the travel during the period March 18 to 23, 1959 appears to have been performed under the temporary duty travel order, and the majority of the duties of the employee from March 14 to April 12 evidently were performed at Battle Creek. Therefore, upon the present record, or view is that Battle Creek continued to be the employee's official station until April 12, or until such later date as he reported at Washington for permanent duty in compliance with orders effecting such transfer, and no per diem is payable to the employee for services rendered in Battle Creek.