GAO allows agency to reimburse employees for personal cell phone use

A recent decision by Comptroller General David Walker will allow employees at the Western Area Power Administration to be reimbursed for using their own cell phones to conduct government-related business. WAPA, which markets and transmits hydroelectric power, plans to put in place a one-year pilot program in its Desert Southwest Customer Service Office, which services Arizona, California, Nevada and New Mexico. Under WAPA's pilot program, employees who meet the agency's criteria for using a government-issued cell phone can use their personal cell phones to conduct government business and be reimbursed at a flat rate. Until now, WAPA's customer service office has been spending about $55,000 a year to provide cell phones and pagers to its employees. WAPA estimates that the pilot program will save the agency about $20,000 a year. Walker's decision allows WAPA to go forward with its pilot program, but nixes WAPA's plan to reimburse its employees at a flat rate based on prior usage. "Without specific statutory authority, WAPA may not reimburse employees at a flat rate instead of reimbursing for actual expenses," the decision said. "Paying employees on the basis of an established fee per day is equivalent to a commutation of expense or allowance in addition to salary, and, therefore, is prohibited." WAPA is not the first agency to reimburse federal employees for business calls on personal cell phones. Last fall the FAA began a similar pilot program at its Logistics Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. Eligible employees are reimbursed $30 a month for cell phone use, no matter how many minutes they talked on their phones. FAA officials likened the flat reimbursement rate to per diem rates--whether employees use the money to eat or pocket the funds, they still get the per diem. According to a GAO official, FAA officials claim the agency has statutory authority to offer a flat reimbursement rate. But Congress must pass legislation allowing flat rate reimbursements for other agencies to have that authority, the official said.