Office of the General Counsel

9601559

Dear Mr. [xxx]:

This letter is in reference to your request that we review your claim for living quarters allowance ("LQA"). We have completed our review of this claim and have determined that it may not be allowed.

The record shows that you were hired on a Veterans Readjustment Appointment effective August 20, 1995, 32 months after you separated from the [Agency]. Upon separation, you used your entitlement to government paid transportation to ship your household goods to Belgium.

The Department of State Standardized Regulations (DSSR) Section 031.12b provides that LQA may be granted to employees recruited outside the U.S., provided the employees actual place of residence is attributable to employment by the U.S. government. An additional requirement in such a case is that prior to appointment, the employee be recruited in the U.S., the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ... or a possession of the U.S. and had been in substantially continuous employment by such employer under conditions which provide for transportation back to the U.S.

The rational for the rule regarding transportation rights is to ensure that the employees presence in the foreign area is attributable to the employees government service. In this case, since you elected to use your transportation rights upon your separation from the Armed Services to relocate from one overseas area to another, it is fair to infer that your presence in the overseas area where you were hired was a personal choice, rather than incident to your employment with the United States.

Also, Department of Defense (DOD) regulations prohibit payment of a LQA to persons who are not appointed within one year of their separation from the military service.

Therefore, under either the State Dept. or DOD regulations, you are not entitled to LQA. Accordingly, your claim is denied.

Sincerely,

Paul Britner
Senior Attorney