Board of Contract Appeals General Services Administration Washington, D.C. 20405 ________________________ July 13, 2000 ________________________ GSBCA 15282-RELO In the Matter of HERMAN E. HARKE Herman E. Harke, Bowling Green, VA, Claimant. R.W. Welcher, Deputy Director for Finance, Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Rome, NY, appearing for Department of Defense. HYATT, Board Judge. Claimant, Herman E. Harke, a civilian employee of the Army, transferred from Fort Irwin, California to Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, in November 1997. At that time, he owned a home in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where his family lived. Mr. Harke seeks reimbursement of the cost of selling his home in North Carolina in conjunction with his permanent change of station. Background Mr. Harke initially worked as a safety specialist at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, under a temporary appointment. When the appointment expired, no permanent positions were available at Fort Bragg, so claimant applied for and accepted a safety specialist position at Fort Irwin, California. Because of the nature of his position and duties at Fort Irwin, Mr. Harke did not move his family to California.[foot #] 1 Instead, he lived in a travel trailer at an recreational vehicle park and ----------- FOOTNOTE BEGINS --------- [foot #] 1 Mr. Harke states that he was on call to investigate accidents twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and was called out at night three to four times a week. The town closest to Fort Irwin was Barstow, some forty miles distant, which would have required a considerable commute to respond to the typical number of calls he received. For this reason, claimant chose to live in a trailer park at Fort Irwin, rather than move his family to California. ----------- FOOTNOTE ENDS ----------- returned every few months to North Carolina for three to four days to see his family. In November 1997, Mr. Harke was contacted by the personnel office in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and informed that he had been selected for the safety manager position at Fort A.P. Hill. This was a permanent change of station with authorization of full relocation expenses. Mr. Harke explained to the Fort Belvoir representative that he owned a home in North Carolina and contemplated selling that home and moving his family to Virginia. After consulting with personnel specialists at Fort Belvoir, claimant was assured that the expenses of selling his home in North Carolina would be authorized and reimbursed. In reliance on this information, Mr. Harke turned down a higher grade position as safety manager at Fort Irwin. Mr. Harke was not informed that the expenses of selling the house in North Carolina were not payable under applicable regulations until after he had sold the house and submitted his claim for legal approval. Personnel at Fort Bragg tentatively approved the claim based on the travel authorization, but cautioned that the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) would probably disallow the claim based on the pertinent provisions in the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR). Discussion Agencies are authorized to reimburse employees for real estate expenses incurred in the sale of a residence at the old official station incident to a transfer in the interest of the Government. 5 U.S.C. 5724a (Supp. III 1997). Under the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR), which implements this statutory provision, the residence being sold must be at the employee's old "official station." 41 CFR 302-6.1 (1998). The FTR further provided that for purposes of real estate transaction costs, the residence at the "official station" is the house or other quarters from which the employee regularly commutes to and from work. Alternatively, in remote areas where adequate family housing within a reasonable commuting distance is not available, the residence may include the dwelling where the employee's family resides. 41 CFR 302-1.4(k). The pertinent provisions of the JTR, applicable to relocation expenses incurred by civilian Defense Department employees, are similar. JTR C14000-A. The Board and the Comptroller General have consistently held that the requirement for regular commuting connotes a daily, not weekly or occasional, commute to and from the official station. E.g., David Morrell, GSBCA 15229-RELO, 00-1 BCA 30,899; Richard S. Citron, GSBCA 15166-RELO, 00-1 BCA 30,788; Ezzat Asaad, GSBCA 14484-RELO, 98-1 BCA 29,667; Malcolm L. Jowers, GSBCA 13727, 97-1 BCA 28,800; Donald R. Stacy, 67 Comp. Gen. 395 (1988). If an employee sells a home from which he or she does not commute regularly, the real estate transaction costs cannot be reimbursed by the agency. Here, claimant's official duty station was at Fort Irwin, California, and he commuted regularly to work from the trailer park located at the base. The record does not contain sufficient information to determine whether Fort Irwin is so remote that adequate housing within a reasonable commute from the base was not available. We note that it is within the Army's authority to consider this issue and, if it concludes that Fort Irwin is in a remote area, to approve payment of the real estate transaction costs associated with the sale of the home in North Carolina. If Fort Irwin is not located in a remote area, the agency has properly denied the claim. This is so in spite of the fact that claimant received erroneous advice about his eligibility to recover these costs in connection with the sale of the North Carolina house and despite the erroneous travel orders reflecting this intention. See, e.g., Charles M. Ferguson, GSBCA14568-TRAV, 99-1 BCA 30,299; James E. Black, GSBCA 14548-RELO, 98-2 BCA 29,876; William Archilla, GSBCA 13878-RELO, 97-1 BCA 28,799. ___________________________ CATHERINE B. HYATT Board Judge