Claim for Retroactive Promotion and Backpay

A government employee appealed an earlier GAO settlement which denied his claim for a retroactive temporary promotion and backpay. The appellant temporarily filled a position that had been held by employees assigned higher Government Service grades prior and subsequent to the dates he occupied it. A portion of the time during which the appellant filled the position, for which he claimed to have been underpaid, was not included in the current decision, because claims of this nature not received by GAO within 6 years after the date the claim accrued are barred from consideration. The record showed that the position in question was assigned a classification which conformed with that of the appellant before the date after which the appellant's situation could be considered for purposes of this appeal. GAO determined that the fact that higher-graded employees may have been assigned to the appellant's position indicated a classification problem, but not a situation that entitled him to compensation after the fact. The appellant should have requested that his agency reclassify the position or should have filed an appeal of his position classification with the Civil Service Commission. Accordingly, the disallowal of the claim was sustained.