This subpart provides the standards to be followed by Broadcasting Board of Governors in implementing 5 U.S.C. 5514 to recover a debt from the pay of an Board employee or former employee, and establishes the procedural guidelines to recover debts when the employee's creditor and paying agencies are not the same.

(a) Coverage. This subpart applies to Executive agencies, military departments, an agency or court in the judicial branch, an agency of the legislative branch and other independent entities of the Federal Government as defined in 5 CFR 550.1103, under the heading “Agency”.

(b) Applicability. This subpart and 5 U.S.C. 5514 apply in recovering debts by offset without the employee's consent from the current pay of that employee. Debt collection procedures which are not specified in 5 U.S.C. 5514 and these regulations will be consistent with the Federal Claims Collection Standards (4 CFR parts 101-105).

(1) The procedures contained in this subpart do not apply to debts or claims arising under the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 as amended (26 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), or the tariff laws of the United States or to any case where collection of a debt is explicitly provided for or prohibited by another statute (e.g., travel advances in 5 U.S.C. 5705).

(2) This subpart does not preclude an employee from requesting a waiver of a salary overpayment under 5 U.S.C. 5584, 10 U.S.C. 2774, or 32 U.S.C. 716, or in any way questioning the amount or validity of a debt by submitting a subsequent claim to the General Accounting Office in accordance with procedures prescribed by the General Accounting Officer, nor does it preclude an employee from requesting waiver when waiver is available under any statutory provision.

For purposes of this subpart:

Board means the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

Creditor Agency means the agency to which the debt is owed.

Debt means an amount owed to the United States.

Disposable Pay means that part of current basic pay, special pay, incentive pay, retired pay, retainer pay or authorized pay remaining after the deduction of any amount required to be withheld by law. The Board will exclude deductions described in 5 CFR 581.105 (b) through (f) to determine disposable pay subject to salary offset.

Employee means a current employee of Broadcasting Board of Governors or of another Executive Agency.

Executive Agency means:

(a) An Executive Agency as defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code, including the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Postal Rate Commission;

(b) A military department as defined in section 102 of title 5, United States Code;

(c) An agency or court in the judicial branch, including a court as defined in section 610 of title 28, United States Code, the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation;

(d) An agency of the legislative branch, including the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives; and

(e) Other independent establishments that are entities of the Federal Government.

FCCS means the Federal Claims Collection Standards jointly published by the Justice Department and the General Accounting Office at 4 CFR parts 101-105.

Paying agency means the agency employing the individual and authorizing the payment of his or her current pay.

Salary offset means an administrative offset to collect a debt under 5 U.S.C. 5514 by deductions at one or more officially established pay intervals from the current pay account of an employee without his or her consent.

Waiver means the cancellation, remission, forgiveness, or non-recovery of a debt allegedly owed by an employee to an agency as permitted or required by U.S.C. 5584, 10 U.S.C. 2774, or 32 U.S.C. 710, 5 U.S.C. 8346(b), or any other law.

(a) Salary offset deductions shall not be made unless the Director, Financial Operations Division of Broadcasting Board of Governors, or such other official as may be named in the future by the Director of Broadcasting Board of Governors, provides to the employee a written notice, 30 calendar days prior to any deduction, stating at a minimum:

(1) The Board's determination that a debt is owed including the nature, origin, and amount of the debt;

(2) The Board's intent to collect the debt by means of deduction from the employee's current disposable pay account;

(3) The amount, frequency and proposed beginning date and duration of the intended deductions;

(4) An explanation of the Board's policy concerning interest, penalties, and administrative costs;

(5) The employee's right to inspect and copy Government records pertaining to the debt;

(6) The opportunity to establish a schedule for the voluntary repayment of the debt or to enter into a written agreement to establish a schedule for repayment in lieu of offset per the requirements of 4 CFR 102.2(e).

(7) The employee's right to a hearing arranged by the Board and conducted by an administrative law judge or, alternatively, an official not under the control of the head of the Board;

(8) The method and time period for filing a petition for a hearing;

(9) That timely filing of the petition will stay the commencement of collection proceedings;

(10) That final decision on the hearing will be issued not later than 60 days after the filing of the petition for hearing unless the employee requests and the hearing officer grants a delay in the proceedings.

(11) That knowingly false, misleading, or frivolous statements, representations or evidence may subject the employee to:

(i) Disciplinary procedures under chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code or any other applicable statutes;

(ii) Penalties under the False Claims Act, sections 3729-3731 of title 31 U.S.C. or any other applicable statutes.

(iii) Criminal penalties under sections 286, 287, 1001, 1002 of title 18 United States Code or any other applicable statutes.

(12) Any other rights or remedies available to the employee, including representation by counsel or his respective bargaining unit, under the statutes or regulations governing the program for which collection is being made.

(13) That amounts paid on or deducted for the debts that are later waived or found not owed to the United States will be promptly refunded to the employee.

(b) Notifications under this section shall be hand delivered with a record made of the delivery, or shall be mailed certified mail with return receipt requested.

(c) No notification hearing, written responses or final decisions under this regulation are required of Broadcasting Board of Governors for any adjustment to pay arising from an employee's election of coverage under a Federal benefit program requiring periodic deductions from pay, if the amount to be recovered was accumulated over four pay periods or less.

(a) Petition for hearing. (1) A hearing may be requested by filing a written petition with the Director, Financial Operations Division of Broadcasting Board of Governors, or such other official as may be named in the future by the Director of Broadcasting Board of Governors, stating why the employee believes the Board's determination of the existence or amount of the debt is in error.

(2) The petition must be signed by the employee and fully identify and explain with reasonable specificity all the facts, evidence and witnesses which the employee believes support his or her position.

(3) The petition must be filed no later than fifteen (15) calendar days from the date the notification under § 512.20(b) was hand delivered or the date of delivery by certified mail.

(4) Where petition is received after the 15 calendar day limit, Broadcasting Board of Governors will accept the petition if the employee can show that the delay was beyond his or her control or because of failure to receive notice.

(5) If the petition is not filed within the time limit, and is not accepted pursuant to paragraph (a)(4) of this section, the employee's right to hearing will be considered waived, and salary offset will be implemented.

(b) Type of hearing. (1) The form and content of the hearing will be determined by the hearing official who shall be a person outside the control or authority of Broadcasting Board of Governors.

(2) The employee may represent him or herself, or may be represented by counsel.

(3) The hearing official shall maintain a summary record of the hearing.

(4) The hearing official will prepare a written decision which will state:

(i) The facts purported to evidence nature and origin of the alleged debt;

(ii) The hearing official's analysis, findings, and conclusions relative to:

(A) The employee's and/or the Board's grounds;

(B) The amount and the validity of the alleged debt;

(C) The repayment schedule, if applicable.

(5) The decision of the hearing official shall constitute the final administrative decision of the Board.

(a) Deduction by salary offset, from an employee's disposable current pay, shall be subject to the following circumstances:

(1) When funds are available, the Board will collect debts owed the United States in full in one lump-sum. If funds are not available or the debt exceeds 15% of disposable pay for an officially established pay interval, collection will normally be made in installments.

(2) The installments shall not exceed 15% of the disposable pay from which the deduction is made, unless the employee has agreed in writing to a larger amount.

(3) Deduction will commence with the next full pay interval following notice that deductions will commence.

(4) Installment deductions will not be made over a period greater than the anticipated period of employment.

(a) If an employee retires or resigns before collection of the debt is completed, offset of the entire remaining balance may be made from a final payment of any nature to such extent as is necessary to liquidate the debt.

(b) Where debt cannot be liquidated by offset from final payment, offset may be made from later payments of any kind due from the United States inclusive of Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 8347 and 5 CFR 831.1801 et seq of this regulation.

An employee's voluntary payment of all or part of a debt being collected under 5 U.S.C. 5514 shall not be construed as a waiver of any rights which the employee may have under 5 U.S.C., or any other provision of contract or law, unless statutory or contractual provisions provide to the contrary.

(a) Refunds shall be promptly made when:

(1) A debt is waived or otherwise found not to be owed to the United States; or

(2) The employee's paying agency is directed by an administrative or judicial order to refund amounts deducted from his or her current pay.

(b) Refunds do not bear interest unless required or permitted by law or contract.

The assessment of interest, penalties and administrative costs shall be in accordance with subpart D of this regulation.

(a) Format for request for recovery. (1) Upon completion of the procedures prescribed under 5 CFR 550.1104 and its own regulations, the creditor agency shall certify the debt in writing to the paying agency.

(2) The creditor agency shall certify in writing that the employee owes the debt, the amount and basis of the debt; the date on which payment is due, the date the Government's right to collect first accrued, and that the creditor agency's regulations implementing section 5514 have been approved by OPM.

(3) If collection must be made in installments, the creditor agency must advise the paying agency of the number of installments to be collected, the amount of each installment, and the commencing date of the first installment.

(b) Submitting the request for recovery—(1) Current employees. The creditor agency shall submit the debt claim, agreement, or other instruction on the payment schedule to the employee's paying agency.

(2) Separated employees—(i) Employees who are in the process of separating. If the employee is in the process of separating, the creditor agency will submit its debt claim to the employee's paying agency for collection as provided in §§ 512.22 and 512.23. The paying agency shall certify the total amount of its collection and notify the creditor agency and the employee as provided in paragraph (b)(2)(iii) of this section. Where the paying agency is aware that the employee is entitled to payments from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, it will send a copy of the certified debt claim to the agency responsible for making such payments as notice that a debt is outstanding. It is the responsibility of the creditor agency for pursuing the claim.

(ii) Employees who have already separated. If the employee is already separated and all payments due from his or her former paying agency have been paid, the creditor agency may request that monies which are due and payable to the employee from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (5 CFR 831.1801) or other similar funds be administratively offset in order to collect the debt (31 U.S.C. 3716 and the FCCS).

(iii) Employees who transfer from one paying agency to another. If an employee transfers to a position served by a different paying agency subsequent to the creditor agency's debt claim but before complete collection, the paying agency from which the employee separates shall certify the total of collection made on the debt. One copy of the certification will be supplied to the employee, and another to the creditor agency with notice of the employee's transfer. The original shall be inserted in the employees official personnel folder. The creditor agency shall submit a properly certified claim to the new paying agency before collection can be resumed. The paying agency will then resume collection from the employee's current pay account, and notify the employee and the creditor agency of the resumption. The creditor agency will not need to repeat the due process procedure described by 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 5 CFR 550.1101 et seq.” Upon settlement or repayment of the debt all records of the debt will be removed from official personnel records.

(c) Processing the debt claim upon receipt by the paying agency:

(1) Incomplete claims. If the paying agency receives an improperly completed debt certification, it shall return the request with a notice that procedures under 5 CFR 550.1101 et seq. and the creditor agency's own regulations must be completed and a properly completed debt certification form received before action will be taken to effect collection.

(2) Complete claim. If the paying agency receives a properly completed debt form, deductions will begin prospectively at the next officially established pay interval. A copy of the debt form will be given to the debtor along with notice of the date deductions will commence.

(3) The paying agency is not required or authorized to review the merits of the creditor agency's determination with respect to the amount or validity of the debt as stated in the debt claim.