[Entitlement of NIH Employee to Downward Adjustment in Debt for Excess Weight Charges]

GAO commented on whether a National Institutes of Health employee was entitled to decreased household goods weight charges incident to his transfer since he, rather than the movers, unpacked most of the items. GAO noted that: (1) only one of the movers assisted the employee in unpacking his goods; (2) the employee dismissed the mover since his performance was unsatisfactory; and (3) the employee failed to request a reduction in payment to the moving company for the packing services until he received the bill for excess charges. GAO held that there was no legal basis for waiving the regulations requiring application of a specific formula to compute excess weight charges, regardless of extenuating circumstances. Accordingly, the employee's liability claim should not be reduced.