[Retention of Jury Fees by Military Member]

GAO was asked to determine whether a military member on active duty may keep fees received for serving as a juror in a State court while he received full military pay and allowances. The accounting and finance officer withheld the amount that the military member received as compensation for jury duty from his military pay and placed it in a suspense account pending a decision on the matter. GAO held that the member may not keep the fees because he was not in a leave status and he is therefore receiving additional compensation for performing his duties presumably during normal working hours. Accordingly, the voucher was not paid and will be retained.