Washington, DC
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Leave Claim Decision
Under section 3702 of title 31, United States Code
Department of the Army
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Damon B. Ford
Compensation and Leave Claims
Program Manager
Agency Compliance and Evaluation
Merit System Accountability and Compliance
12/01/2020
Date
The claimant is a Federal civilian employee of the Command and General Staff College (CGSC), Department of the Army (DA), in Leavenworth, Kansas. He requests credit for “active duty training” time earned in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) in the determination of his service computation date for annual leave accrual purposes (SCD-Leave). The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) received the claim on March 13, 2019, and the agency administrative report (AAR) on December 23, 2019. For the reasons discussed herein, the claim is denied.
The claimant was appointed to his current Federal civilian position with the DA on August 6, 2018. At the time of his appointment, the agency determined the claimant was a military retiree and did not provide credit for any previous military service for annual leave accrual purposes. The agency initially determined August 6, 2018 as the claimant’s SCD-Leave. However, after verifying the claimant’s uniformed service, the agency provided him credit for 12 years, 4 months, and 12 days of active duty military service credit adjusting his SCD-Leave to March 23, 2006, as shown in Box 31 of the Standard Form 50, dated July 31, 2019. [1] In his request to OPM, the claimant states:
I accept the determination of 12 years, 4 months, and 12 days of service based upon my active duty time and my time as a West Point Cadet. However, I believe I should also receive credit for the approximately one year, nine months, and 25 days of “active duty training” earned in the U.S. Army Reserve.
In its AAR, the agency states:
Employee request for creditable service for the purpose of leave accrual rate as an armed forces retiree. The Standard Form 50 that was approved on 9 August 2018 with an effective date of 6 August 2018 is correct based on the documentation [claimant] provided to his servicing Civilian Personnel Advisory Center during in-processing. However, [claimant] was deemed eligible for uniformed services retirement annuity prior to beginning his current civilian position on 6 August 2018.
For purposes of determining an employee’s annual leave accrual rate, section 3501(a)(2) of title 5, of the United States Code (U.S.C.) defines a “retired member of a uniformed service” as a “member or former member of a uniformed service who is entitled, under statute, to retired, retirement, or retainer pay on account of his service as such a member.” In its initial response to the claimant regarding his creditable military service for annual leave accrual purposes, the agency explained its determination that the claimant is a military retiree because the claimant was “deemed eligible for uniformed services retirement annuity prior to beginning [his] current civilian position on 6 August 2018.”
Although active military service time is generally creditable for annual leave accrual purposes for non-retired members of the uniformed service, 5 U.S.C. 6303(a) restricts the amount of credit military retirees receive for their active duty service. The law provides no legal authority to grant retired members of the uniformed services any credit for military service, including annual active duty training as a Reservist, for annual leave accrual purposes unless the employee meets one or more of the conditions outlined in 5 U.S.C. 6303(a)(A-C). Since the claimant is a military retiree who has not provided documentation to meet any of the qualifying conditions under 5 U.S.C. 6303(a)(A)-(C), his military service is not creditable for annual leave accrual purposes.
If the claimant participated in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge is authorized or received a disability retirement from the uniformed service based on a disability received as a direct result of armed conflict or caused by an instrumentality of war and incurred in the line of duty during a period of war, then service credit is provided as outlined above. The claimant would need to provide his DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) or other proof of such service issued from his branch of service to the servicing human resources office for support of his claim for additional creditable service.
Under 5 CFR 178.105, the burden of proof is on the claimant to establish the liability of the United States and the claimant's right to payment. OPM does not conduct adversary hearings but settles claims on the basis of the evidence submitted by the claimant and the written record submitted by the government agency involved in the claim. See 5 CFR 178.105; Matter of John B. Tucker, B-215346, March 29, 1985. As explained above, the claimant has failed to demonstrate that he meets any of the qualifying conditions necessary to receive credit for active duty training as a Reservist. Accordingly, the claim is denied.
This settlement is final. No further administrative review is available within OPM. Nothing in this settlement limits the claimant’s right to bring an action in an appropriate United States court.
[1] The basis for the March 23, 2006 adjusted SCD-leave is unclear and not supported by evidence in the AAR. As explained later in this decision, military retirees may only receive credit for their military service under specific qualifying conditions which are not evidenced in the record. OPM does not suggest what further action the agency may take. Rather, we hold only that the administrative record before us does not support the adjusted SCD-Leave date of March 23, 2006.