Office of the General Counsel
Date: December 16, 1998
Matter of: [xxx]
File Number: s002344
OPM Contact: Murray M. Meeker
The claimant, a civilian employee with the [agency] at [xxx],
claims that his pay was improperly set after he was promoted from a
GS-5 position to a GS-6 position. While the claimant is a member of
a collective bargaining unit and his claim was originally filed as
a grievance, the agency has advised the Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) that the claim is not covered by a negotiated
grievance procedure. The claim is, therefore, subject to review by
OPM. See Carter v. Gibbs, 909 F.2d 1425,
1453 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (en banc), cert.
denied, 498 U.S. 811 (1990). For the reasons discussed
herein, the claim is denied.
The factual circumstances concerning this claim are not in
dispute. On July 19, 1998, the employee was promoted from a GS-5
position with retained pay to a GS-6 position. To set the
employee's pay after the promotion, the agency added the monetary
equivalent of two steps, i.e., $1,332, to the GS-5, step 10,
salary, i.e., $25,963, for a total of $27,295. Because this total
fell between step 7 and step 8 on the GS-6 salary schedule, the
employee's salary was set at the higher step, step 8, of the GS-6
salary schedule.
The claimant asserts that two steps should have been added to
his actual pay, $26,713, which would have placed him between step 8
and step 9, and thereby entitled him to the higher step. The
claimant's computation is not permitted by law. The two step
increase amount may not be added to the claimant's actual pay,
i.e., to the claimant's retained rate. 5 U.S.C. 5334(b).
See Caesar A. Langston, B-247190, June 4, 1992; Betty
J. Beasley, B-197025, August 3, 1981; and Florence N.
Ontai, B-172195, May 16, 1974. Accordingly, the claim is
denied.
This settlement is final. No further administrative review is
available within OPM. Nothing in this settlement limits the
employee's right to bring an action in an appropriate United States
Court.