March
24, 2008
CBCA
998-RELO
In
the Matter of RICARDO HERRERA
Ricardo
Herrera, Alexandria, VA, Claimant.
Debra
J. Murray, Chief, Travel Section, U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
Indianapolis, IN, appearing for Department of Homeland Security.
PARKER, Board Judge.
Ricardo
Herrera has asked the Board to review the decision of the Department of
Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, denying his claim for
reimbursement of househunting trip expenses.
As discussed below, we hold that the agency properly denied the claim.
Background
In
connection with his transfer from March Air Force Base, California, to
Washington, D.C., Mr. Herrera was authorized to take a househunting trip. He also was authorized to receive a lump-sum
reimbursement of temporary quarters subsistence expenses (TQSE) in the amount
of $15,225.
Mr.
Herrera did not take a househunting trip prior to relocating in Washington,
D.C. His household goods were shipped to
Washington in July 2007, and later that month Mr. Herrera, his wife, and
his five children flew to Washington and checked into temporary quarters at a
local hotel.
On
August 1, without checking out of the hotel, Mr. Herrera and his wife flew from
Washington, D.C., back to Los Angeles, California, and then immediately
returned to Washington D.C., arriving at 6:20 a.m. the following day. Mr. Herrera and his wife made this puzzling
journey because Mr. Herrera believed that this would allow him to claim
the ten days following the trip as a househunting trip and receive
reimbursement for additional days in the hotel, as well as the cost of the
airfare, per diem, rental car, and other expenses. When Mr. Herrera claimed $5859.61 for a
househunting trip (in addition to the lump-sum TQSE), the agency denied the
claim.
Discussion
According
to the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR), a househunting trip is Aa trip made by the employee and/or spouse to your new
official station locality to find permanent living quarters.@ 41 CFR 302-5.1
(2007). The trip
is intended to
facilitate and expedite the employee=s move
from your old official station to your new official station and to lower the
Government=s overall cost for the employee=s relocation by reducing the amount of time an
employee must occupy temporary quarters.
Id. 302-5.2.
Househunting trips are to be taken Ain
advance of travel,@ id. 302-5.6, and must be completed by Athe day before you report to your new Official
station.@ Id.
302-5.12.
Based
upon the above regulations, it is clear that Mr. Herrera and his spouse did not
take a reimbursable househunting trip.
At the time of the couple=s
round-trip flight to Los Angeles and back to Washington, D.C., the Herrera
family had already relocated to Washington.
As the General Services Administration Board of Contract Appeals, our
predecessor in deciding federal civilian employee travel and relocation claims,
explained:
Claimant, however,
did not take an advance househunting trip; instead he completed his en-route
travel with his spouse and arrived at his new duty station. The fact that claimant spent a period of time
in temporary quarters engaged in househunting activities does not make his stay
in temporary quarters a househunting trip reimbursable under the FTR.
Perry F. Gayaldo, GSBCA 16339-RELO, 04-1 BCA &
32,578, at 161,194. Mr. Herrera chose to
perform his relocation travel and begin his stay in temporary quarters without
first taking the househunting trip he was authorized to take. His attempt to use that entitlement by taking
a totally unnecessary and wasteful round-trip flight back to his old duty
station solely for the purpose of receiving additional reimbursement violated
both the spirit and the letter of the regulations. Mr. Herrera=s claim
for reimbursement was properly denied by the agency.
____________________
ROBERT W. PARKER
Board
Judge
