Board of Contract Appeals General Services Administration Washington, D.C. 20405 January 19, 1999 GSBCA 14716-RELO In the Matter of REBECCA S. SAGER Rebecca S. Sager, Hampton, VA, Claimant. Mark Slowiaczek, Office of General Counsel, Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Denver, CO, appearing for Department of Defense. GOODMAN, Board Judge. Claimant, Rebecca S. Sager, a former civilian employee of the Department of the Army, has requested this Board to review the agency's denial of her claim for reimbursement of expenses incurred in the sale of her residence. In January 1996, claimant made a permanent change of station (PCS) move from Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, to Limestone, Maine. She listed her residence in Hampton, Virginia, for sale. According to claimant, she reported for duty on February 4, 1996. On January 14, 1997, claimant requested leave without pay (LWOP) for thirty days beginning February 18, 1997, and ending March 20, 1997, because of a lack of adequate medical facilities for her husband. According to claimant's request, the time requested would allow her to seek employment in an area where adequate facilities were available. This request was approved. Claimant and her husband returned to Hampton, Virginia. Her residence had not sold, and tenants who were renting the property vacated the premises before she returned. Claimant asserts that on March 19, 1997, she was separated from federal service, and on March 27, 1997, she received a telephone call from agency personnel offering her a position in Denver, Colorado, which she accepted. The agency agrees that claimant resigned from federal service and provides these details regarding the assignment to Denver: In order for the Agency to reassign the claimant to the position in Denver, because the claimant had been on LWOP, resigned, and was separated from the Agency, it was first necessary to cancel the separation, extend her LWOP, and return her to duty. . . . On April 7, 1997, travel orders were issued, authorizing her PCS from the Limestone, Maine, operating location to Denver, Colorado. Effective April 13, 1997, the claimant was returned to duty at Limestone, Maine, and was also reassigned from Limestone, Maine, to Denver, Colorado. On April 7, 1997, the agency issued travel orders relocating claimant from Limestone, Maine, to Denver, Colorado. Claimant s home remained listed for sale. On April 14, 1997, claimant entered into a contract to sell her Hampton, Virginia, residence. The purchaser was to have possession on a rental basis until the date of closing, "on or before June 30, 1998," approximately fourteen months later. On May 5, 1997, claimant reported for duty in Denver, Colorado. On March 31, 1998, claimant requested LWOP for a period of sixty days beginning May 24, 1998 and ending July 23, 1998, to seek employment in the Virginia area. She stated that "[d]ue to a decline in my husband's health and possible additional surgeries it is necessary for me to return to the East Coast." Claimant also submitted a request to resign on March 31, 1998, with an effective date of July 23, 1998. On June 3, 1998, claimant's application for the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program, which had been submitted earlier in the year, was approved. On June 30, 1998, claimant closed on the sale of her Hampton, Virginia, residence. Her request for reimbursement for real estate expenses arising from the sale of her Hampton residence was denied by the agency. The claim was denied on the basis that Limestone, Maine, and not Hampton, Virginia, was claimant s official duty station from which she was transferred to Denver. Discussion Claimant asserts that she was never informed that the real estate expenses for the sale of her Hampton residence would not be covered under her travel orders from Limestone, Maine, to Denver, Colorado. She further asserts that she was told by an individual in the Human Resources Department in Denver that the Transportation Agreement and the JTR would extend the coverage of my real estate expenses for the sale of my home [in Hampton] for another two years. The Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) C14000 entitles an employee to reimbursement for certain expenses incurred in the sale of a residence at the old permanent duty station. Additionally, the JTR provides that [S]ettlement for the sale . . . transactions must be not later than 2 years after the date the employee reports for duty at the new [permanent duty station]. . . . Upon an employee s written request, the 2-year period may be extended by the commanding officer (or designee) of the activity bearing the cost for up to an additional 1 year. JTR C14000-B. The agency correctly denied reimbursement. Claimant was transferred from Hampton, Virginia, to Limestone, Maine, in January 1996 and reported for duty on February 4, 1996. According to the above-quoted paragraph of the JTR, the final date for the claimant to settle on the sale of her home in Hampton was two years from February 4, 1996. She did not ask for or receive an extension beyond that date. She sold the residence on June 30, 1998, after the two-year period expired. Claimant asserts that she was told that the time limit for the sale of her residence in Hampton would be extended for another two years under her transfer from Limestone, Maine, to Denver. If she was so advised, this was erroneous information, as the Hampton residence was not located at the old duty station, Limestone, Maine. Absent a statutory or regulatory provision allowing for reimbursement of a particular relocation expense, neither the agency nor this Board may authorize its payment, despite the fact that an employee may have incurred costs in good faith reliance on erroneous advice. See, e.g., Chesley E. Kimbrel, GSBCA 13680-RELO, 97-2 BCA 29,043 (1996); Kevin S. Foster, GSBCA 13639-RELO, 97-1 BCA 28,688 (1996). The agency was correct in denying the request for reimbursement. ________________________ ALLAN H. GOODMAN Board Judge