RECENT DECISIONS ON TRAVEL AND RELOCATION: TDY Can’t Substitute for a Permanent Change of Duty
Stephen was notified he had been selected to take a position in Washington DC from abroad in Dec 2007. He asked that his permanent transfer be delayed until Dec. 2007 so his children could complete their school year and that time spent in DC before Dec be considered temporary duty and that his family take temporary housing in October in Europe in anticipation of their move in December. Though his agency approved the Inspector General’s office intervened and rejected his invoices for $17,000. In his appeal the Board said Stephen should not have been assigned TDY before Dec because he had been performing his duties since August where there was no expectation of returning abroad to perform additional work (his position was filled by someone else), ruling Washington DC became Stephen’s permanent duty station in Aug. and hence he could not be on TDY. As for temporary duty for his family, the Board noted that temporary housing is limited to a maximum of 30 days immediately prior to final departure to a new post. However it noted that agency provisions allowed for an extended stay for a maximum of 60 additional days if the head of the agency or their designee determines there are compelling reasons and since Stephen’s permanent transfer was retroactively changed to August this was exactly the type of “compelling reason” that would justify the 60 day extension for his family (CBCA 1214-RELO).
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