45 C.F.R. Subpart C—Salary Offset
Title 45 - Public Welfare
(a) The regulations in this subpart provide the Corporation procedures for the collection by salary offset of a Federal employee's pay to satisfy certain debts owed to the Corporation or to other Federal agencies. (b) The regulations in this subpart do not apply to any case where collection of a debt by salary offset is explicitly provided for or prohibited by another statute. (c) Nothing in the regulations in this subpart precludes the compromise, suspension, or termination of collection actions under the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966, as amended, or the FCCS. (d) A levy imposed under the Internal Revenue Code takes precedence over a salary offset under this subpart, as provided in 5 U.S.C. 5514(d). Yes, the regulations in this subpart do not preclude you from requesting waiver of an overpayment under 5 U.S.C. 5584 or 8346(b), 10 U.S.C. 2774, 32 U.S.C. 716, or other statutory provisions pertaining to the particular debts being collected. (a) The Corporation will coordinate salary deductions under this subpart as appropriate. (b) If you are a Corporation employee who owes a debt to the Corporation, the Corporation's payroll office in Human Resources will determine the amount of your disposable pay and will implement the salary offset. (c) Deductions will begin within three official pay periods following receipt by the Corporation's payroll office of certification of debt from the creditor agency. (d) The Notice provisions of these regulations do not apply to certain debts arising under this section (see §2506.14(c)). (e) Types of collection. (1) Lump-sum offset. If the amount of the debt is equal to or less than 15 percent of disposable pay, the debt generally will be collected through one lump-sum offset. (2) Installment deductions. Installment deductions will be made over a period not greater than the anticipated period of employment. The size and frequency of installment deductions will bear a reasonable relation to the size of the debt and your ability to pay. However, the amount deducted from any period will not exceed 15 percent of the disposable pay from which the deduction is made unless you have agreed in writing to the deduction of a greater amount. If possible, installment payments will be sufficient in size and frequency to liquidate the debt in three years or less. (3) Deductions from final check. A deduction exceeding the 15 percent of disposable pay limitation may be made from any final salary payment under 31 U.S.C. 3716 and the FCCS in order to liquidate the debt, whether the employee is being separated voluntarily or involuntarily. (4) Deductions from other sources. If an employee subject to salary offset is separated from the Corporation and the balance of the debt cannot be liquidated by offset of the final salary check, the Corporation may offset later payments of any kind against the balance of the debt, as allowed by 31 U.S.C. 3716 and the FCCS. (f) Multiple debts. In instances where two or more creditor agencies are seeking salary offsets, or where two or more debts are owed to a single creditor agency, the Corporation's payroll office may, at its discretion, determine whether one or more debts should be offset simultaneously within the 15 percent limitation. (a) Responsibilities of the Corporation as the creditor agency (i.e. when the debtor owes a debt to the Corporation and is an employee of another agency). Upon completion of the procedures established in this subpart and pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 31 U.S.C. 3716, the Corporation must submit a claim to a paying agency or disbursing official. (1) In its claim, the Corporation must certify, in writing, the following: (i) That the employee owes the debt; (ii) The amount and basis of the debt; (iii) The date the Corporation's right to collect the debt first accrued; (iv) That the Corporation's regulations in this subpart have been approved by OPM under 5 CFR part 550, subpart K; and (v) That the Corporation has met the certification requirements of the paying agency. (2) If the collection must be made in installments, the Corporation's claim will also advise the paying agency of the amount or percentage of disposable pay to be collected in each installment. The Corporation may also advise the paying agency of the number of installments to be collected and the date of the first installment, if that date is other than the next officially established pay period. (3) The Corporation will also include in its claim: (i) The employee's written consent to the salary offset; (ii) The employee's signed statement acknowledging receipt of the procedures required by 5 U.S.C. 5514; or (iii) Information regarding the completion of procedures required by 5 U.S.C. 5514, including the actions taken and the dates of those actions. (4) If the employee is in the process of separating and has not received a final salary check or other final payment(s) from the paying agency, the Corporation must submit its claim to the paying agency or disbursing official for collection under 31 U.S.C. 3716. The paying agency will (under its regulations adopted under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 5 CFR part 550, subpart K), certify the total amount of its collection on the debt and notify the employee and the Corporation. If the paying agency's collection does not fully satisfy the debt, and the paying agency is aware that the debtor is entitled to payments from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund or other similar payments that may be due the debtor employee from other Federal government sources, then (under its regulations adopted under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 5 CFR part 550, subpart K), the paying agency will provide written notice of the outstanding debt to the agency responsible for making the other payments to the debtor employee. The written notice will state that the employee owes a debt, the amount of the debt, and that the provisions of this section have been fully complied with. However, the Corporation must submit a properly certified claim under this paragraph (a)(4) to the agency responsible for making the other payments before the collection can be made. (5) If the employee is already separated and all payments due from his or her former paying agency have been paid, the Corporation may request, unless otherwise prohibited, that money due and payable to the employee from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund or other similar funds be administratively offset to collect the debt. (6) Employee transfer. When an employee transfers from one paying agency to another paying agency, the Corporation will not repeat the due process procedures described in 5 U.S.C. 5514 and this subpart to resume the collection. The Corporation will submit a properly certified claim to the new paying agency and will subsequently review the debt to ensure that the collection is resumed by the new paying agency. (b) Responsibilities of the Corporation as the paying agency (i.e., when the debtor owes a debt to another agency and is an employee of the Corporation). (1) Complete claim. When the Corporation receives a certified claim from a creditor agency (under the creditor agency's regulations adopted under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 5 CFR part 550, subpart K), deductions should be scheduled to begin within three officially established pay intervals. Before deductions can begin, the Corporation sends the employee a written notice containing: (i) A statement that the Corporation has received a certified claim from the creditor agency; (ii) The amount of the debt; (iii) The date salary offset deductions will begin; and (iv) The amount of such deductions. (2) Incomplete claim. When the Corporation receives an incomplete certification of debt from a creditor agency, the Corporation will return the claim with a notice that the creditor agency must: (i) Comply with the procedures required under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 5 CFR part 550, subpart K, and (ii) Properly certify a claim to the Corporation before the Corporation will take action to collect from the employee's current pay account. (3) The Corporation is not authorized to review the merits of the creditor agency's determination with respect to the amount or validity of the debt certified by the creditor agency. (4) Employees who transfer from the Corporation to another paying agency. If, after the creditor agency has submitted the claim to the Corporation, the employee transfers from the Corporation to a different paying agency before the debt is collected in full, the Corporation will certify the total amount collected on the debt and notify the employee and the creditor agency in writing. The notification to the creditor agency will include information on the employee's transfer. (a) If the Corporation is the creditor agency, it will promptly refund any amount deducted under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 5514, when: (1) The debt is waived or all or part of the funds deducted are otherwise found not to be owed (unless expressly prohibited by statute or regulation); or (2) An administrative or judicial order directs the Corporation to make a refund. (b) Unless required or permitted by law or contract, refunds under this section will not bear interest. No, your involuntary payment of all or any portion of a debt under this subpart will not be construed as a waiver of any rights that you may have under 5 U.S.C. 5514 or other provisions of a law or written contract, unless there are statutory or contractual provisions to the contrary.
Title 45: Public Welfare
PART 2506—COLLECTION OF DEBTS
Subpart C—Salary Offset
§ 2506.30 What debts are included or excluded from coverage of these regulations on salary offset?
§ 2506.31 May I ask the Corporation to waive an overpayment that otherwise would be collected by offsetting my salary as a Federal employee?
§ 2506.32 What are the Corporation's procedures for salary offset?
§ 2506.33 How will the Corporation coordinate salary offsets with other agencies?
§ 2506.34 Under what conditions will the Corporation make a refund of amounts collected by salary offset?
§ 2506.35 Will the collection of a debt by salary offset act as a waiver of my rights to dispute the claimed debt?
