Position Classification

Reference was made to a letter in which an employee requested an opinion concerning the classification of his position in the Department of the Interior. In view of statutory and regulatory provisions relating to decisionmaking authority, formal decisions are generally rendered only to heads of departments and agencies, disbursing and certifying officers, or to claimants who have filed monetary claims. Under federal law, individual agencies were given the authority to place job positions in appropriate classes and grades. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was to review the agency classifications. Accordingly, GAO has no jurisdiction to determine whether a position has been properly classified or described and no authority to settle claims on any basis other than the agency or OPM classification. Therefore, allegations concerning the classification of position of employment should be directed in the form of an appeal to the agency or OPM.