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Office of the General Counsel
S9601058
Dear Mr. [xxx]:
We have reviewed the claim of [xxx], an employee of the [agency], that you submitted to the General Accounting Office (GAO) on August 8, 1996. For the reasons expressed herein, the claim is barred.
As explained in your letter of June 19, 1996, in the process of performing a service history for Mr. [xxx], a staffing specialist in the office discovered an administrative error concerning the effective date for a within grade increase (WGI) that Mr. [xxx] received in 1983. The record indicates that Mr. [xxx] received a merit increase on October 3, 1982; that on December 12, 1982, Mr. [xxx] changed from GM-13 to GS-13, step 2; and that on December 11, 1983, Mr. [xxx] received a WGI to GS-13, step 3, but that this increase should have been effected on October 2, 1983. As a result of the initial error, Mr. [xxx] received delayed WGIs in 1985 and 1987. The facts relating to the untimely increases are not in dispute, nor is there any dispute that the delays resulted from an administrative error.
The Barring Act, 31 U.S.C. 3702(b)(1), provides that claims against the United States must be received "within 6 years after the claim accrues." The accrual date for a WGI is the date when the WGI was payable, not the date when the administrative error was discovered. Mary J. Kampe and Martha R. Johnson, B-214245, July 23, 1984.
Sincerely yours,
Murray M. Meeker
Senior Attorney