Board of Contract Appeals General Services Administration Washington, D.C. 20405 ____________________ September 16, 1998 ____________________ GSBCA 14577-RELO In the Matter of NEAL PALKE Neal Palke, Johnston Island, Claimant. Pat Davis, Personnel Management Specialist, Civilian Personnel Advisory Center, United States Army Garrison, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, appearing for Department of the Army. PARKER, Board Judge. In June 1997, Neal Palke, a civilian employee of the Department of Defense (DoD), was transferred from Tooele County, Utah, to Johnston Island. Johnston Island is a possession of the United States located 717 nautical miles southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. Although his orders did not authorize reimbursement of real estate expenses, Mr. Palke claimed reimbursement for certain costs incurred in connection with the sale of his house in Utah. Mr. Palke maintains that, notwithstanding his orders, provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) entitle him to reimbursement. DoD maintains that Mr. Palke is not entitled to reimbursement. According to DoD, because a transfer to Johnston Island is a transfer to foreign area, Mr. Palke would be entitled to reimbursement of real estate expenses only upon his subsequent transfer from Johnston Island to a non-foreign duty station other than Tooele County, Utah.[foot #] 1 As explained below, we hold that Mr. Palke's position is correct; his transfer to Johnston Island entitles him to immediate reimbursement of real estate expenses. ----------- FOOTNOTE BEGINS --------- [foot #] 1 Under 5 U.S.C. 5724a(d)(1) (West Supp. 1997) and paragraph C14000-C of the JTR, an employee who has been transferred to a foreign area is entitled to reimbursement of real estate expenses only if and when the employee is transferred, or receives official notification that he will be transferred, back to a non-foreign official station which is different than the official station from which the employee was transferred when assigned to the foreign duty station. ----------- FOOTNOTE ENDS ----------- 2 Discussion The confusion about whether a transfer to Johnston Island is a transfer which entitles the employee to reimbursement at the time of transfer, or whether it constitutes a transfer to a foreign area which entitles the employee to reimbursement only upon his return to a different non-foreign duty station, arises because of two apparently contradictory provisions in the JTR. Paragraph C14000-A of the JTR provides that a transferred employee is entitled to reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with the sale of a residence at the employee's old duty station provided that: a PCS [permanent change of station] is authorized/approved and . . . the old and new duty stations are located within the United States, Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, or the former Canal Zone area . . . . JTR C14000-A.1. According to the agency, since Johnston Island is not within any of these areas, Mr. Palke is not entitled to reimbursement of real estate expenses. Mr. Palke points to paragraph C4400 of the JTR. Paragraph C4400 is a table of eligibility for various types of expense reimbursements available to civilian employees of DoD. As to whether employees are eligible for reimbursement of real estate expenses in connection with a "permanent change of station from duty stations in [the] continental United States to overseas duty stations," the table says "NO (Footnote 3)." Footnote 3, however, states as follows: Allowed when old and new duty stations are located in the 50 states, District of Columbia, U.S. territories and possessions, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or areas and installations in the Republic of Panama . . . . Thus, where JTR C14000-A.1 uses the term "United States" when listing areas in which the new and old duty stations must be located, JTR C4400 uses the term "50 states, District of Columbia, U.S. territories and possessions." Mr. Palke maintains that the language used in JTR C4400, which specifically includes U.S. possessions, entitles him to immediate reimbursement of real estate expenses. The apparent conflict in the JTR is really no conflict at all. The term "United States" used in JTR C14000 is defined in Appendix A of the JTR. Under that definition, the United States includes: The 50 states, District of Columbia, territories and possessions. 3 Defining the term "United States" to include its territories and possessions makes JTR C14000-A.1 consistent with JTR C4400. It also makes the provision consistent with 5 U.S.C. 5724a, the statute which governs reimbursement of real estate expenses, and 41 CFR 302-6.1 (1997), the section of the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) which implements the statute. Thus, because Utah is a state, and Johnston Island is a possession of the United States, the JTR (and statute) requires that the Government reimburse Mr. Palke for the expenses incurred in connection with the sale of his house in Utah. Decision The claim is granted. ________________________ ROBERT W. PARKER Board Judge