[Request for Decision Concerning Compensation for Land Commissioners]

An advance decision was requested concerning the maximum amounts of compensation which may be paid to land commissioners appointed by the Federal District Courts pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in land condemnation cases. GAO was asked whether a land commissioner is limited to the maximum biweekly and annual rate of pay available under the General Schedule. Land commissioners are paid on an hourly or per diem basis only for time they work, and they are not full-time employees. In a previous decision, GAO stated that land commissioners may be paid at a rate not to exceed the daily equivalent of a GS-18 and may legally be paid an hourly rate that the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts deems appropriate, as long as the daily maximum is not exceeded. Because the biweekly conversion principles need not be applied, land commissioners may be paid for more than 80 hours or for more than 10 days during any 2-week period. However, GAO found that a land commissioner's annual pay is limited to that payable in level V of the Executive Schedule, which is also the highest rate payable under the General Schedule.