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Request for Travel and Transportation Expenses From Overseas Post of Duty

B-198051 Jun 02, 1980
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Highlights

A decision was requested as to the legality of paying the transfer costs of an employee who violated his service agreement with another agency incident to an overseas assignment. After serving less than 1 year of a 3-year tour of duty overseas, the Army employee accepted a position with the National Park Service in Ohio. The Park Service agreed to pay for the employee's moving expenses to Ohio, but later questioned the propriety of such action since the employee had not completed the minimum required period of service at his overseas post. The employee transferred to his current position with the Park Service without a break in service and executed a new service agreement with the Park Service. Statutes provide that an agency shall pay the travel expenses of an employee transferred in the interest of the Government from one official station or agency to another for permanent duty, and that an employee transferred to a post of duty outside the continental United States is entitled to his expenses of transportation from the overseas post to the same extent, and with the same limitations, prescribed for new appointees. It was clear that the Park Service's obligation to pay the travel and transportation expenses of the employee incident to his transfer was separate from the agency he originally transferred from. Accordingly, the failure of the employee to fulfill the minimum service requirements of his agreement with the Army did not affect his entitlement to transfer expenses. The voucher was returned for payment.

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