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OPM.gov / Policy / Pay & Leave / Claim Decisions / Decisions
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60103200

Office of the General Counsel

S9601032

Dear Mr. [xxx]:

This concerns the claim that you submitted to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) regarding the lump-sum payment you received for your accumulated and accrued annual leave. You asked us to investigate this matter and provide you with the applicable laws. You also asked us to explain how the [agency] calculated your leave payment and how to correct any error in the computation of the lump-sum, if an error indeed occurred.

Section 5551(a) of title 5, United States Code, provides that an employee who is separated from the service is entitled to receive a lump-sum payment for accumulated and current accrued annual or vacation leave to which he is entitled by statute. The lump-sum payment shall equal the pay (excluding any differential under section 5925 and any allowance under section 5928) the employee or individual would have received had he remained in the service until expiration of the period of the annual or vacation leave. The lump-sum payment is considered pay for taxation purposes only. The period of leave used for calculating the lump-sum payment shall not be extended due to any holiday occurring after separation.

Section 5925 concerns foreign post differentials, and section 5928 concerns danger pay allowances.

We received from the [agency] an agency report which includes the formulas used in computing the lump-sum payment for your accumulated and current accrued annual leave, as well as the actual computation of your lump-sum payment. We also learned through an informal inquiry we made to officials at OPMs Office of Pay Policy that the formulas used to compute your lump-sum payment are in current use, even though they appear in a November 1970 installment of the defunct Federal Personnel Manual. Moreover, we have reviewed the DFAS computations and find them to be correct.

Accordingly, your request for an adjustment in the amount of the lump-sum payment that you received for your accumulated and current accrued annual leave is denied. A copy of the [agency] report is enclosed.

Sincerely,

Jo-Ann Chabot
Attorney-Advisor

Enclosure

cc. [agency]

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