[Decision Concerning Retroactive Substitution of Donated Annual Leave for Leave Without Pay Following Leave Recipient's Death]

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) requested a decision concerning the propriety of retroactive substitution of donated annual leave for leave without pay after the leave recipient's death under the Temporary Leave Transfer Program. GAO held that: (1) MMS improperly retroactively substituted the donated leave, since program benefits were to end either after the personal emergency ended or after the employee's separation from federal service; and (2) the erroneous compensation payment to the employee's beneficiaries was subject to waiver. Accordingly, the leave substitution was improper but MMS could waive the resulting erroneous payment.