Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1953-02-08
Leave Pay Ruling
Contains LoophoIe,
Johnston Charges
BY Wilton A. MiIIen

Controller General leaves the
way open for some Government
employees still to collect lump
sum payments for accumulated
leave while staying on the job,
despite law designed to end the
practice, came to light on Capt.
toll Hill yesterday.
Senator Johnston, Democrat.
of South Carolina, made the
charge after calling on Con-
troller General Lindsay C. War
rem to re-examine his decision of
December IA, 1851. The Senator
declared the Controller General
left loophole in interpreting the
new Civil Service leave law.
The subject of lump sum cash
payments for accumulated an
nual leave came up on the Sem
ate floor Wednesday. Senator
williams, Republican. of Della
ware, charged the Office of Rent
Sterilization paid $86,260 to 40
employees in June 1850. Since
then, four additional cases have
come to light, so that So of the
rent agency's workers got sos. 100
in cash-for-leave payments. al
though they remained at work.
Situation Being PrObed.
The rent agency's situation is
under investigation by the Civil
Service Commission the Cen
eral Accounting Office, the Sen
ate Committee on Government
Operation and the House APP
preparations Subcommittee on the
Independent Offices.
Senator Williams asserted the
rent agency payments were in
defensible. because permanent
employees were paid in cash, then
put on the temporary payroll. so
they would not have to pay this
money back to the Government.
Senator Johnston maintains
the present loophole is not due
to the law itself, but to what he
describes an an erroneous inter-
probation by the Controller Cen
eral. The Senator. until the
Eisenhower administration came
into power. was chairman of the
Senate Civil Service Committee.
1.-THE Controller General should
again consider the questions,
Senator johnson said, with the
view to seeing if it would not be
in keeping with the intent of
the act to hold that a refund
of compensation and a CORE
spending credit of leave is re-
quired when an employee is re-
employed prior to the expiration
of the period covered by accumu-
lated leave to his credit for
which he is given a lump sum
payment"
Cites LOOphOle Example.
Senator Johnston gave this
example of the loophole under
the Controller Generals Deem
Der IA, 1851 ruling: 8S# 4
f"John Doe has say so days an
nual leave to his credit. He IS
terminated on April 1st and
given a lump-sum payment for
his go days annual leave On April
I'd. he IS returned to work on a
60-day temporary appointment.
After the so days he remains out
of service for one day and then
returns to work on a permanent
basis In this manner he has re-
ceived so days leave pay and so
days work pay covering the same
60-day period and then follow
ing the one day break he RENTERS
the service on permanent
basis"
Senator Williams. in charging
the rent agency permitted double
pay for certain employees. said
this was done in June. 1850. He
is looking into the possibility of
the Government recapturing
some Of the money.
MetnOO was Irregular.
OF the rent agency's action,
Senator Johnston told the SEN
ate:
Il do not think that it is my
duty to state here, for the pro-
lection of those employees in
volved, that the practice was not
illegal provided the particular
employees did not return to their
permanent appointments prior
to the expiration of time equiv
alent to the amount of annual
leave which had been accumu-
lated. / have been informed that
they did not in this instance.
Although this practice was
entirely within the law. the man
ner in which it was done may
have been irregular. I trust
that the present head of the
Rent Sterilization Agency will
look into the facts more thor
oughly before taking any addi-
tional hasty action"
Inequities Created.
Senator Johnston pointed out
that Public Law 1913. seeking to
correct leave abuses. was ap-
proved October 80. 1851. becom-
ing effective January 6, 1852.
He said:
1T was apparent to me that
these different leave systems all
operating side by side caused
confusion, created inequities and
affected enploye morale. Nor
ever. following the adoption Of
the Lump Sum Leave Act of De-
cember 81, 1914. as amended, the
Controller General held that
when an employe transferred
from one leave system to an
other payment for accumulated
annual leave was required. Ac-
cordingly, employees going from
one job to another, or changing
from temporary to permanent
status, or transferring from an
agency under the General Leave
System to the Foreign Service or