________________________________________ September 12, 1996 ________________________________________ GSBCA 13638-TRAV In the Matter of FREDDIE G. FENTON Freddie G. Fenton, Stigler, OK, Claimant. Charles P. Rainbolt, State Director, Rural Development, Farmers Home Administration, Stillwater, OK, appearing for Farmers Home Administration. BORWICK, Board Judge. Mr. Freddie G. Fenton, an employee of the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA), claims the expenses for his commute between his home in Stigler, Oklahoma, and FmHA's district office in Muskogee, Oklahoma, which he maintained was a temporary duty station. For the reasons stated below, the Board determines that Mr. Fenton is not entitled to the reimbursement he seeks. The record shows that on February 7, 1992, FmHA announced an underwriter position to serve at either Pryor/Muskogee, Oklahoma, or Wilburton/Muskogee, Oklahoma, with the headquarters to be determined at a later date. Mr. Fenton applied, stating that he was willing to work in either Wilburton or Muskogee. Mr. Fenton resided in Stigler, Oklahoma. Stigler is located forty-four miles from Muskogee and forty-one miles from Wilburton. Until December 7, 1992, Mr. Fenton's official duty station was in Wilburton. Effective August 31, 1992, however, FmHA detailed Mr. Fenton to the FmHA's district management unit in the Muskogee office for an anticipated period of 120 days. FmHA paid Mr. Fenton travel expenses for his commute between his home and the FmHA office in Muskogee during his detail. FmHA lost six employees at the Pryor and Wilburton offices and subsequently consolidated its district office in Muskogee. By memorandum of November 27, 1992, therefore, FmHA's State Director advised Mr. Fenton of a temporary but indefinite change in his official duty location, and further advised Mr. Fenton that he would not be reimbursed for commuting mileage between his residence and his new official duty station. Mr. Fenton sought commuting expenses from FmHA, arguing that Muskogee had not been officially approved as a permanent district office. FmHA denied the claim, by letter dated November 1, 1993, stating regardless of the lack of official approval, Muskogee was the employee's regular place of duty and was the physical location where he was expected to report for duty on a daily basis. On December 29, 1993, Mr. Fenton appealed to GAO, seeking reimbursement for his travel. Although in his written submission, Mr. Fenton was not clear as to the expenses for which he sought reimbursement, the attachments to that submission show he expected to be reimbursed for use of his privately owned vehicle (POV) between his residence at Stigler and his duty station at Muskogee. Mr. Fenton argued that the FmHA's State Director's memorandum confirmed that fact that Muskogee, Oklahoma, would continue as a temporary duty station and that as of December 27, 1993, the Muskogee temporary duty station had not been approved by the FmHA Administrator as an official duty station. He maintained that his official duty station remained at Wilburton, Oklahoma, and that regulation entitled him to claim mileage from his residence or his official duty station, whichever was advantageous to the Government to his temporary duty station. Mr. Fenton's claim lacks merit. Statute provides that an employee, "when traveling on official business away from the employee's designated post of duty," is entitled to either a per diem allowance at an established rate, or reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses of official travel, or a combination of payments for both. 5 U.S.C.  5702(a)(1)(1994). An employee who is "engaged on official business for the Government" is entitled, instead of actual expenses of transportation, to an established rate per mile for use of a POV, when that mode of transportation is authorized or approved as more advantageous to the Government. 5 U.S.C.  5704(a)(1)(1994). The general rule, therefore, is that an employee is not entitled to commuting expenses between the employee's home and his official duty station. Gunther Moehrke, B-252142 (July 6, 1993); Richard H. Foster, B-202370, B-202370.OM, (Jan. 15, 1982). An employee commuting between home and the employee's office is not traveling on official business away from the employee's designated post of duty. Consequently, FmHA instructions allow reimbursement for an employee's POV mileage only when the employee performs temporary duty at nearby points and does not report to his or her regular place of duty. FmHA Instruction 2036-A,  2036.11(e)(3) (1988). Similarly, the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) allow reimbursement for an employee's expenses by passenger carrier between home and the employee's designated duty post only in limited circumstances. Such expenses are allowed, for example, on the day the employee departs from the office on travel requiring at least one night's lodging and on the day the employee returns to the office from the trip. 41 CFR 301-2.3(d) (1995). A second circumstance is when the employee is working other than regular hours and the travel is during hours of infrequently scheduled public transportation or darkness. 41 CFR 301-2.3(e) (1995). Mr. Fenton argues that the change of his official duty station, effective December 7, 1992, from Wilburton to Muskogee was merely the continuation of his earlier detail to Muskogee at the end of August. Whether an assignment is permanent or temporary is a matter of fact, to be determined from the orders under which the assignment was made, the character of the assignment, its duration, and the nature of the duties involved. Willis Nordlund, B-257724 (Mar. 24, 1995). Here, the FmHA consolidated the district office at Muskogee, thus making Muskogee the designated place of duty for all employees in the district. The change was not unique to Mr. Fenton. The consolidation was for an indefinite period of time, and, from the record before us, lasted from December 7, 1992, until at least November 1, 1993, a period of eleven months. The consolidation of district offices did not change Mr. Fenton's duties. Finally, Mr. Fenton has not shown that any location other than Muskogee in fact served as his official, or permanent, duty station after FmHA implemented its consolidation. Regardless of whether FmHA's district officials secured the necessary approvals up the chain of command for the consolidation, the record shows that Muskogee served as the official place of duty for the FmHA district. Mr. Fenton is not entitled to reimbursement of his commuting expenses between his home in Stigler and his official duty station in Muskogee. _________________________ ANTHONY S. BORWICK Board Judge