Entitlement to Lump-Sum Payment

A Federal employee appealed a Claims Division decision which denied him a lump-sum payment for hours of forfeited annual leave. The employee had requested permission to take annual leave for the month of November 1976 and restored annual leave for the month of December. Shortly before he was due to depart on the November leave, he was given a temporary duty assignment, and the annual leave had to be canceled. However, the assignment terminated in the middle of November and the employee was able to use his restored leave as scheduled in December. In January 1977, the employee requested restoration of the leave which he forfeited in 1976 due to the temporary duty assignment. The agency disallowed the claim as the loss of regular leave due to the use of restored leave did not constitute a proper basis for restoration of leave. The employee submitted a claim to GAO requesting restoration of the forfeited annual leave. The Claims Division allowed him payment for the leave he lost during the first half of November 1976 while on temporary duty but denied him payment for the leave in the second half of November which he did not take when he returned from temporary duty. The employee appealed this determination arguing that the leave should be restored to him since an exigency of public business which was not documented in the record prevented him from rescheduling leave on the days in question. To allow leave restitution, the exigency must be of such importance as to preclude the use of scheduled annual leave, and the annual leave must have been scheduled in writing before the start of the third biweekly pay period prior to the end of the leave year. GAO concluded that the agency may wish to reconsider the employee's leave restoration request on the basis of a determination being made that the loss of the leave was due to an exigency of public business. If the agency so determines, GAO would have no objection to payment of the claim for such leave.