Board of Contract Appeals

                    General Services Administration

                         Washington, D.C. 20405

 

 

 

                            ________________

 

                             June 19, 2001

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                            GSBCA 15536-RELO

 

 

                 In the Matter of LAWRENCE W. WEISHOFF

 

 

        Lawrence W. Weishoff, Lovell, WY, Claimant.

 

        Edward P. Moy, Manager, Airway  Facilities Division, Federal

   Aviation Administration,  Northwest Mountain Region,  Renton, WA,

   appearing for Department of Transportation.

 

   DeGRAFF, Board Judge.

 

        A transferred employee who takes more than three years after

   the effective  date of his transfer to begin  his move to his new

   duty  station  is   no  longer  eligible  for   reimbursement  of

   relocation expenses.  

 

                               Background

 

        In  1995, Lawrence W.  Weishoff was employed  by the Federal

   Aviation Administration  (FAA).  On  June 20, 1995, the  FAA told

   Mr. Weishoff  that due to  an agency reorganization, he  would be

   transferred  from Billings, Montana,  to Lovell,  Wyoming, within

   the next  few years.   Billings and Lovell are  approximately 100

   miles apart.  The  FAA said that because the  transfer to Wyoming

   would be in  the best interest of the Government, the expenses of

   the  transfer  would   be  paid  as  provided  in  Department  of

   Transportation (DOT) Order 1500.6.  

 

        The  FAA  transferred  Mr.  Weishoff  to   Lovell,  Wyoming,

   effective  October 26,  1997, the  day  he reported  for work  at

   Lovell.   Although the  Federal Travel Regulation  (FTR) required

   the  FAA  to  issue   travel  orders  to  Mr. Weishoff   when  it

   transferred  him,  it   did  not  do  so.     41  CFR  302-1.3(c)

   (1997).[foot #] 1 

                                                                    

                   ----------- FOOTNOTE BEGINS ---------

 

        [foot #] 1     In legislation  that took effect on  April 1,

   1996,  Congress exempted  the FAA  from large  parts of  title 5,

                                                      (continued...)

 

                   ----------- FOOTNOTE ENDS -----------

 

 

 

         Mr.  Weishoff did  not move to  Wyoming at the  time of his

   transfer.   On  August  29,  1999, Mr.  Weishoff  asked that  his

   "eligibility for  a [Permanent Change  of Station (PCS)]  move be

   extended for (1) one year  until 26 October 2000."  On  September

   3, 1999, the FAA informed Mr. Weishoff that his request  was "not

   necessary"  because he  had two  years from  the date  his travel

   orders were issued  to complete his move, and  there was "nothing

   to extend"  because the  FAA had never  provided him  with travel

   orders.   Based  upon  the  FAA's response  to  his request,  Mr.

   Weishoff concluded  that his time  limit for moving  from Montana

   had not yet begun to run. 

 

        In December 2000, Mr. Weishoff asked the FAA to issue travel

   orders to him.  In February 2001,  the FAA told Mr. Weishoff that

   it could  not issue  any travel orders  because DOT  Order 1500.6

   provided that  the maximum  time for  beginning allowable  travel

   could  not exceed  three  years  from the  effective  date of  an

   employee's transfer.  The FAA  suggested that Mr. Weishoff ask us

   to review his situation, which he did.  Mr. Weishoff subsequently

   informed us that  he moved from  Montana to  Wyoming in late  May

   2001.  

 

                               Discussion

 

        When the FAA transferred Mr.  Weishoff to Wyoming, both  the

   FTR  and DOT  Order 1500.6  provided  that the  maximum time  for

   beginning  allowable travel  and transportation could  not exceed

   two  years from the effective date of an employee's transfer.  In

   certain  limited circumstances, the two-year time period could be

   extended, but not for more than one additional year.  41 CFR 302-

   1.6; DOT Order  1500.6A   5-0107.   By  requiring an employee  to

   begin allowable travel and transportation within a defined period

   of time after  a transfer, the regulations carry  out the purpose

   of the authorizing statute, which  is to ensure that the employee

   is reimbursed  for expenses  that  are incurred  incident to  the

   transfer.   See Paul W. Gard,  Jr., GSBCA 15311-RELO, 00-2  BCA  

   31,053.

 

        According to the regulations, Mr. Weishoff had until October

   26, 2000,  at the latest, to begin his  move to Wyoming.  Because

   Mr. Weishoff  began his move  after that  date, he was  no longer

   eligible for reimbursement of relocation expenses.

 

        The  FAA realizes  that  it  gave  incorrect advice  to  Mr.

   Weishoff in September 1999.  Nonetheless, the FAA is not bound by

                                                                    

                   ----------- FOOTNOTE BEGINS ---------

 

        [foot #] 1 (...continued)

   United  States Code,  including  the  provisions  of  that  title

   concerning reimbursement  of relocation  expenses.   Pub. L.  No.

   104-50,   347,  109 Stat. 436, 460 (1995).  When Mr. Weishoff was

   transferred, the FAA  had not yet adopted its  own travel policy,

   and  it  utilized the  Federal  Travel Regulation  and  DOT Order

   1500.6.

 

                   ----------- FOOTNOTE ENDS -----------

 

 

   the erroneous advice provided to Mr. Weishoff by an FAA employee.

   Thomas W. Schmidt, GSBCA 14646-RELO, 99-2 BCA   30,430.

   __________________________________

 

                                      MARTHA H. DeGRAFF

                                      Board Judge