Board of Contract Appeals General Services Administration Washington, D.C. 20405 ___________________ June 1, 2000 ___________________ GSBCA 15302-RELO In the Matter of MENILAO T. DIZON Menilao T. Dizon, San Leandro, CA, Claimant. Stephen T. Davis, Attorney-Advisor, Headquarters, Military Traffic Management Command, Department of the Army, Falls Church, VA, appearing for Department of the Army. PARKER, Board Judge. In October 1997, Menilao T. Dizon, an employee of the Department of the Army, was transferred from Oakland, California, to Concord, California. Concord is about twenty miles from Oakland. From the time of his transfer until March 1999, Mr. Dizon commuted to Concord from his old residence in Hayward, California, a distance of thirty-eight miles. In March 1999, Mr. Dizon moved to a new residence in San Leandro, California. His new commuting distance to Concord was thirty-six miles. The Army determined, and Mr. Dizon does not dispute, that the change in commuting time was negligible. When Mr. Dizon filed a claim for reimbursement of the real estate expenses that he incurred in connection with the move, the Army denied it on the basis that the change of residence was made for personal reasons and not incident to his change of duty station. Mr. Dizon has asked the Board to review the Army s decision. The Army properly denied Mr. Dizon s claim. Generally, when an agency transfers one of its employees in the interest of the Government from one official permanent duty station to another, the agency, in accordance with regulatory prescriptions, is to reimburse the employee for various expenses he incurs in connection with the move. 5 U.S.C. 5724a (1994); Lisa Pierce, GSBCA 14268-RELO, 98-1 BCA 29,510. When the change of station involves a short distance -- at least ten miles, but within the same metropolitan area -- the allowances provided by statute and regulation shall be authorized only when the agency determines that the relocation was incident to the change of official station. 41 CFR 302-1.7(a) (1997); see also Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) C4108. Both the Federal Travel Regulation and the JTR prescribe factors which an agency should consider in making such a determination, including commuting time and distance between the employee s residence at the time of notification of the transfer and his/her old and new posts of duty as well as the commuting time and distance between a proposed new residence and the new post of duty. Id. Given the small change in commuting distance and the fact that the change in commuting time was negligible, the Army correctly determined that Mr. Dizon s move from Hayward to San Leandro seventeen months after being transferred was not incident to his transfer. In fact, Mr. Dizon has not even alleged that it was. Mr. Dizon s basic argument is that he should be reimbursed because he was not properly counseled and was thus unaware of the requirement that the change of residence be incident to his transfer. As we have stated many times before, however, the lack of proper advice cannot create a right to reimbursement where there is no statutory or regulatory right to such reimbursement. E.g., Kevin S. Foster, GSBCA 13639-RELO, 97-1 BCA 28,688. Because the Army properly determined that Mr. Dizon s change of residence was not incident to his transfer, there is no legal basis for reimbursing Mr. Dizon s real estate expenses. The claim, therefore, must be denied. _______________________ ROBERT W. PARKER Board Judge