Although he was able to turn in the unused tickets for a refund, the Air Force refused to reimburse Dawes for the tickets he bought at the airport. Most of the time, federal travelers get their reimbursements maybe slowly, but they get them and everything works out. But occasionally, an employee and the government can t agree on how much, or even whether, the government should pay. If you re one of the unlucky few who is out of pocket a couple of hundred or even a couple of thousand dollars it s cold comfort to learn that things go well for the vast majority of the 93,000 federal workers on temporary duty travel on any given business day. But you can avoid getting stuck in a reimbursement quagmire.
Some employees end up in trouble with the regulations while they re trying to be good.
To avoid this and many other travel reimbursement perils, follow the rules. The government requires that travel arrangements be made through the commercial travel office or travel management center under contract to an employee s organization or through an in-house travel office. Korman had checked her reimbursement rate not once, not twice, but six times before she spent the money for temporary lodging while relocating. Bad information can t obligate the government to pay for something the law doesn t cover. Know the law.