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70031600
Office of the General Counsel
OPM Ref. # 9700316
Dear Mr. [xxx]:
This letter is in reference to your request that we review your claim for severance pay. We have completed our review of this claim and have determined that it may not be allowed.
According to the record, your employing agency, the [agency name], first notified you on March 2, 1996, that you were being reassigned to another duty station. The agency does not dispute that this reassignment was to a duty station outside of your commuting area and that, had you chosen to decline the reassignment, you would have been eligible for severance pay. 5 C.F.R. 550.703, definition of involuntary separation. After a number of delays negotiated between you and your agency, during which time you were on leave-without-pay status, you formally accepted this reassignment, and your reassignment to the new duty station became effective on March 10, 1996. Subsequently, on June 16, 1996, you resigned without ever having returned to pay status.
The dispositive fact in your claim is that, on the date of your resignation, you were not subject to a reassignment outside of your duty station. Therefore, you do not meet the criteria for an involuntary separation. Accordingly, your claim is denied.
Very truly yours,
Paul Britner
Senior Attorney