CBCA 8472

GRANTED IN PART AS TO ENTITLEMENT: May 8, 2026 CBCA 8472, 8473 PERTAINGBER LAWRANCE NOAUH, Appellant, v. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Respondent. Pertaingber Lawrance Noauh, pro se, Monrovia, Liberia. Robert J. Anderson and Aaron J. Pound, Office of General Counsel, General Services Administration,1 Washington, DC, counsel for Respondent. Before Board Judges RUSSELL, O’ROURKE, and NEWSOM. O’ROURKE, Board Judge. Appellant, Pertaingber Lawrance Noauh, submitted a claim to the contracting officer seeking $40,753.95 in uncompensated meal breaks spanning two separate but consecutive personal services contracts for acquisition support services at the United States Embassy in Liberia. Appellant’s work schedule under both contracts did not provide for paid meal 1 Due to an agency restructuring and reduction in force, counsel for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID or agency) withdrew from the case, effective March 6, 2026. Attorneys from the General Services Administration filed notices of appearance “on behalf of USAID” on March 16, 2026. CBCA 8472, 8473 2 breaks. When a change in Liberian labor laws required paid meal breaks for employees working forty-hour weeks, the Embassy submitted, through official channels, a request to modify the work schedule consistent with the new Liberian labor law. Eight years passed before the change was implemented, effective November 1, 2024. From that point on, local employees working forty hours per week earned paid meal breaks. Compensation for past meal breaks was not addressed by this change, prompting appellant to submit a claim to the contracting officer covering the period from March 18, 2018, to October 31, 2024. The contracting officer denied the claim on the basis that appellant’s contract did not provide for paid meal breaks. Appellant appealed to the Board, which docketed the case as CBCA 8473. Appellant submitted a second claim to the contracting officer seeking $73,714.52 in unpaid overtime.2 The contract required that requests for overtime be made in advance, in writing, approved by a supervisor, and authorized by the contracting officer. Finding no evidence of pre-approved overtime, the contracting officer denied the claim in its entirety. Appellant appealed the denial to the Board, which was docketed as CBCA 8472. In his appeal for overtime, appellant argued that the terms of both contracts institutionalized overtime by mandating compliance with a forty-three-hour workweek, in violation of his contracts and local labor laws. Because we find that, pursuant to United States law and the terms of appellant’s service contracts, the agency was obligated to compensate appellant consistent with local labor laws, we grant in part the appeals. Findings of Fact I. Overview Appellant, a resident of Liberia, was awarded a personal services contract in 2018 by USAID (contract number 669-S-00-18-00006) and was assigned to the USAID Regional 2 Appellant submitted a third claim to the contracting officer seeking compensation for the unexpired portion of his contract following the termination. That decision was also denied by the contracting officer and appealed to the Board. That appeal was docketed as CBCA 8471 but is not consolidated with this appeal. As such, this decision does not address that matter. CBCA 8472, 8473 3 Office of Acquisition and Assistance in Monrovia, Liberia.3 The initial period of performance ran for about one year, and two contract modifications extended appellant’s service through September 2022, at which time USAID awarded him a follow-on contract (contract number 72066923S10004) with a period of performance continuing through September 30, 2024, with three one-year options. Appeal File, Respondent’s Exhibits 1-4, 6.4 In July 2024, USAID deleted the options and extended the period of performance to September 30, 2027. Respondent’s Exhibit 7 at 2. Both contracts called for appellant to provide a wide variety of acquisition services, from acquisition planning and policy advice, to reviewing project budgets, conducting complex cost analyses, approving solicitations, evaluating offers, and performing post-award contract administration. Respondent’s Exhibits 1 at 2-5, 6 at 5-8.