NON-REIMBURSABLE DETAIL AGREEMENTS
“A ‘detail’ is the temporary assignment of an employee to a different position for a specified period, with the employee returning to regular duties at the end of the detail.” 64 Comp. Gen. 370, 376 (1985). Unless an agency possesses specific statutory authority, non-reimbursable details are presumptively unlawful because appropriations are to be spent solely for the purposes for which they were appropriated. 65 Comp. Gen. 635, 637 (1986). There are, however, two exceptions recognized: (1) non-reimbursable details are permissible "where they involve a matter similar or related to matters ordinarily handled by the loaning agency and will aid the loaning agency in accomplishing a purpose for which its appropriations are provided;" and (2) non-reimbursable details are permissible when the fiscal impact on the appropriation supporting the detail is de minimis. For example, when “details are for brief periods when necessary services cannot be obtained, as a practical matter, by other means and the numbers of persons and costs involved are minimal.” 64 Comp. Gen. 370, 380, 381 (1985). Our office has consistently advised that non-reimbursable details that are justified as de minimis should not exceed one year in duration and should be authorized in at most 120-day increments. In such cases, the following sample MOU may be considered.
A "detail" is the temporary assignment of an employee to a different position for a specified period, with the employee returning to regular duties at the end of the detail. 64 Comp. Gen. 370, 376 (1985). Unless an agency possesses specific statutory authority, non-reimbursable details are presumptively unlawful because appropriations are to be spent solely for the purposes for which they were appropriated. 65 Comp. Gen. 635, 637 (1986). There are, however, two exceptions recognized: (1) non-reimbursable details are permissible where they involve a matter similar or related to matters ordinarily handled by the loaning agency and will aid the loaning agency in accomplishing a purpose for which its appropriations are provided; and (2) non-reimbursable details are permissible when the fiscal impact on the appropriation supporting the detail is de minimis. For example, when details are for brief periods when necessary services cannot be obtained, as a practical matter, by other means and the numbers of persons and costs involved are minimal. 64 Comp. Gen. 370, 380, 381 (1985). Our office has consistently advised that non-reimbursable details that are justified as de minimis should not exceed one year in duration and should be authorized in at most 120-day increments. In such cases, the following sample MOU may be considered.
NOTE: Agreements are subject to legal review and clearance in accordance with your office’s policies and procedures. For advice on detailing employees contact the General Law Division, Office of the Assistant General Counsel for Administration, at (202) 482-5391.