Washington, DC

U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Compensation Claim Decision
Under section 3702 of title 31, United States Code

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Robert D. Hendler
Classification and Pay Claims
Program Manager
Agency Compliance and Evaluation
Merit System Accountability and Compliance


07/22/2014

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Date

The claimant, through his duly appointed representative, “demands that his retention incentive pay be reinstated immediately pursuant [to] the terms of the Settlement Agreement entered into March 15, 2007,” whereby “as the result of a prior compensation claim,” the agency agreed, inter alia, to “[p]ay the claimant a 25% retention bonus until the effective date of his retirement.  The retention bonus will be effective October 1, 2006 for FY 07 and on that date for each subsequent Fiscal Year.  The retention bonus will be in a lump sum each year.”  The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) received the claim on June 16, 2014.[1]  For the reasons discussed herein, the claim is denied for lack of jurisdiction.

The June 3, 2013, claim filed by claimant’s representative with the agency is captioned:  “Petitioner’s Claim Pursuant to a Written Contract.”  The claim states, in relevant part:

Although it is common practice for the VA to offer such incentives when there is 1) a shortage of any particular specialty needed, or 2) as an incentive to keep a Doctor with certain skills under contract, and, in the present case, [the claimant] does fall under this category, it is not the basis or foundation of our claim in this case.”

Instead, the stated basis of the claim is that the claimant’s:

…agreement with the VA…is not discretionary and constitutes an enforceable contract between the parties.  Therefore, the VA has a contractual obligation to honor his employment package as defined in the agreement. 

Thus, the claim request before us does not contest the agency’s claim denial with regard to its applicable law, implementing regulations, or agency procedures; i.e., that the retention incentive was terminated on March 10, 2012, as discussed in the agency’s undated claim denial letter, inter alia based “on the fact that the conditions that originally justified such an incentive were no longer applicable,” there was no “evidence indicating that any annual reviews were ever conducted to support the continuation of the incentive,” and the claimant did not meet other retention incentive requirements; e.g., that he “did not sign a Retention Service Agreement.”  The claimant’s representative does not address or respond to whether the agency’s denial comports with the retention incentive provisions of the VA Handbook 5007/46, Part VI, and 38 U.S.C. 7410(a) .

OPM adjudicates compensation claims for certain Federal employees under the authority of section 3702(a)(2) of title 31, United States Code (U.S.C.) and part 178 of title 5, CFR.  The authority in 31 U.S.C. § 3702(a)(2) is limited to deciding if the governing statutes and regulations have been properly interpreted and applied in determining the pay and/or benefits which an employee may be entitled to or granted.[2]  This authority does not extend to reviewing and enforcing the terms of a settlement agreement entered into by a claimant and his employing agency.  Therefore, we must deny the claim for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.

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.

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