As used in this part:

Administrative offset or offset means withholding funds payable by the United States (including funds payable by the United States on behalf of a State Government) to, or held by the United States for, a person to satisfy a debt owed by the person. The term “administrative offset” includes, but is not limited to, the offset of Federal salary, vendor, retirement, and Social-Security-benefit payments. The terms “centralized administrative offset” and “centralized offset” refer to the process by which the Treasury Department's Financial Management Service offsets Federal payments through the Treasury Offset Program.

Administrative wage garnishment means the process by which a Federal agency orders a non-Federal employer to withhold amounts from a debtor's wages to satisfy a debt, as authorized by 31 U.S.C. 3720D, 31 CFR 285.11, and this part.

Agency or federal agency means a department, agency, court, court administrative office, or instrumentality in the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of the Federal Government, including government corporations.

Chairman means the Chairman of the FLRA or his or her designee.

Creditor agency means any Federal agency that is owed a debt.

Debt means any amount of money, funds, or property that has been determined by an appropriate official of the Federal Government to be owed to the United States by a person. As used in this part, the term “debt” does not include, as described in 31 U.S.C. 3701(d), debts arising under: The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 1 et seq.); the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), except to the extent provided under sections 204(f) and 1631(b)(4) of such Act [42 U.S.C. 404(f) and 1383(b)(4)] and section 3716(c) [31 U.S.C. 3716(c)], or the tariff laws of the United States.

Debtor means a person who owes a debt to the United States.

Delinquent debt means a debt that has not been paid by the date specified in the agency's initial written demand for payment or applicable agreement or instrument (including a post-delinquency payment agreement) unless other satisfactory payment arrangements have been made.

Delinquent FLRA debt means a delinquent debt owed to the FLRA.

Disposable pay has the same meaning as that term is defined in 5 CFR 550.1103.

Employee or Federal employee means a current employee of the FLRA or other Federal agency, including a current member of the Armed Forces, Reserve of the Armed Forces of the United States, or the National Guard.

Executive Director means the Executive Director of the FLRA or his or her designee.

FCCS means the Federal Claims Collection Standards, which were jointly published by the Departments of the Treasury and Justice and codified at 31 CFR parts 900 through 904.

Financial Management Service means the Financial Management Service, a bureau of the Treasury Department, which is responsible for the centralized collection of delinquent debts through the offset of Federal payments and other means.

FLRA means the Federal Labor Relations Authority and all of its components.

FLRA debt means a debt that a person owes the FLRA.

Payment agency or Federal payment agency means any Federal agency that transmits payment requests in the form of certified payment vouchers, or other similar forms, to a disbursing official for disbursement. The “payment agency” may be the agency that employs the debtor. In some cases, the FLRA may be both the creditor agency and the payment agency.

Person means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, organization, State or local government, or any other type of entity other than a Federal agency.

Salary offset means a type of administrative offset to collect, from the current pay account of a Federal employee, a debt that the employee owes.

Tax refund offset is defined in 31 CFR 285.2(a).

Treasury Department means the United States Department of the Treasury. 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 5 U.S.C. 5584, 10 U.S.C. 2774, 32 U.S.C. 716, 5 U.S.C. 8346(b), 42 U.S.C. 404(b), or any other law.

(a) Scope. This part provides procedures for the collection of FLRA debts. This part also provides procedures for collection of other debts owed to the United States when the FLRA receives, from another agency, a request for offset of an FLRA payment (for example, when an FLRA employee owes a debt to the United States Department of Education).

(b) Applicability. (1) This part applies to the FLRA when collecting an FLRA debt, to persons who owe FLRA debts, and to Federal agencies requesting offset of a payment issued by the FLRA as a payment agency (including salary payments to FLRA employees).

(2) This part does not apply to tax debts or to any debt for which there is an indication of fraud or misrepresentation, as described in 31 CFR 900.3 of the FCCS, unless the Department of Justice returns the debt to the FLRA for handling.

(3) Nothing in this part precludes collection or disposition of any debt under statutes and regulations other than those described in this part. See, for example, 5 U.S.C. 5705, Advancements and Deductions, which authorizes agencies to recover travel advances by offset of up to 100% of a Federal employee's accrued pay. See, also, 5 U.S.C. 4108, governing the collection of training expenses. To the extent that the provisions of laws and other regulations differ from the provisions of this part, those provisions of law and other regulations—and not the provisions of this part—apply to the remission or mitigation of fines, penalties, and forfeitures, as well as debts arising under the tariff laws of the United States.

(c) Duplication not required. Nothing in this part requires the FLRA to duplicate notices or administrative proceedings required by contract, this part, or other laws or regulations.

(d) Use of multiple collection remedies allowed. The FLRA and other Federal agencies may simultaneously use multiple collection remedies to collect a debt, except as prohibited by law. This part is intended to promote aggressive debt collection, using for each debt all available collection remedies. These remedies are not listed in any prescribed order, so that the FLRA may have flexibility in determining which remedies will be most efficient in collecting the particular debt.

This part adopts and incorporates all provisions of the FCCS. This part also supplements the FCCS by prescribing procedures consistent with the FCCS, as necessary and appropriate for FLRA operations.