94-18400. Salary Offset  

  • [Federal Register Volume 59, Number 144 (Thursday, July 28, 1994)]
    [Unknown Section]
    [Page ]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 94-18400]
    
    
    [Federal Register: July 28, 1994]
    
    
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    LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
    
    36 CFR Part 705
    [Docket No. LOC 94-1]
    
    
    Salary Offset
    
    AGENCY: Library of Congress.
    
    ACTION: Final regulation.
    
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    SUMMARY: The Library of Congress is authorized to collect debts owed by 
    current and former staff members to the Federal Government by making 
    deductions from the current pay account of the individual. The Library 
    of Congress is issuing this final regulation to prescribe the 
    procedures the Library will follow when collecting a debt owed to the 
    Federal Government via deductions from an employee's pay. It also 
    describes the rights of current employees, former employees who owe 
    debts to other agencies, and former employees who are currently 
    employed by other agencies in the collection of debts owed to the 
    Federal Government by them and sets out the procedures for collecting 
    debts through deductions from their pay following due process.
    
    EFFECTIVE DATE: July 28, 1994.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Johnnie M. Barksdale, Regulations 
    Officer, Office of the General Counsel, Library of Congress, 
    Washington, DC 20540-1050. Telephone No. (202) 707-1593.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under section 5514 of title 5 U.S.C. and 5 
    CFR 550.1101, when an agency head or his/her designee determines that 
    an employee is indebted to the Federal Government, he/she will 
    authorize the collection of that indebtedness in monthly installments 
    or at officially established pay intervals, by deduction from the 
    current pay account of the individual. The amount deducted for any 
    period may not exceed 15 percent of disposable pay, except that a 
    greater percentage may be deducted upon the written consent of the 
    individual involved. If the individual retires or resigns, or if his/
    her employment otherwise ends, before collection of the amount of the 
    indebtedness is completed, deductions shall be made from subsequent 
    payments of any nature due the individual from the agency concerned. 
    This final Regulation sets out the procedures the Library of Congress 
    will follow when collecting debts through deductions from the 
    employee's pay following due process.
        The proposed regulation was published in the Federal Register on 
    May 27, 1994, for public comment. No comments were received. No changes 
    were made to the text.
    
    List of Subjects in 36 CFR Part 705
    
        Salary offset.
    
    Final Regulation
    
        In consideration of the foregoing the Library of Congress 
    promulgates a new Part 705 of 36 CFR chapter 7, reading as follows:
    
    PART 705--FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION
    
    Sec.
    705.1  Salary Offset.
    
        Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 5 CFR 550.1101.
    
    
    705.1  Salary offset
    
        (a) Purpose. This part describes the rights of current and former 
    staff members in the collection of debts owed to the Federal Government 
    by them and sets out the procedures for collecting debts through 
    deductions from their pay following due process.
        (b) Definitions.--(1) Debt is an amount owed to the U.S. Government 
    from insured or guaranteed loans, fees, leases, rents, royalties, 
    services, sales of real or personal property, overpayments, penalties, 
    damages, interest, fines and forfeitures (except those arising under 
    the Uniform Code of Military Justice), and all other similar sources.
        (2) Disposable pay, for purposes of this part, means that part of 
    current basic pay, special pay, incentive pay, retirement pay, retainer 
    pay, or other authorized pay remaining after the deduction of any 
    amount required by law to be withheld, such as Federal taxes, 
    retirement, court-ordered payments, and FICA.
        (3) Staff member refers to current and former employees who owe 
    debts to the Library and/or other Federal Government agencies.
        (c) Procedures.--(1) Notification of indebtedness. The Director of 
    Human Resources, or designee, shall notify the staff member, in 
    writing, of the individual's indebtedness to the Library and the 
    intention of the Library to collect this debt by deductions from the 
    individual's pay. This notice shall be given not less than 30 days 
    before any deduction is made. This notice shall state, at a minimum:
        (i) The Library's determination that a debt is owed, including the 
    origin, nature, and amount of the debt;
        (ii) The Library's intention to collect the debt by means of 
    deduction from the staff member's disposable pay account;
        (iii) The amount, frequency, proposed beginning date, and duration 
    of the intended deductions;
        (iv) An explanation of the Library's policy concerning interest, 
    penalties, and administrative costs, including a statement that such 
    assessments must be made unless excused;
        (v) The staff member's right to inspect and to copy Government 
    records relating to the debt or, if he or she or his or her 
    representative cannot personally inspect the records, to request and 
    receive a copy of such records;
        (vi) If not previously provided, the opportunity (under terms 
    agreeable to the Library) to establish a schedule for the voluntary 
    repayment of the debt or to enter into a written agreement to establish 
    a schedule for the repayment of the debt in lieu of offset (the 
    agreement must be in writing, signed by both the staff member and the 
    Library, and documented in the Library's files);
        (vii) The staff member's right to a hearing conducted by an 
    official arranged for or engaged by the Library (an administrative law 
    judge or, alternatively, a hearing official not under the control of 
    the Librarian of Congress) if a petition is filed as prescribed by the 
    Library;
        (viii) The method and time period for petitioning for a hearing;
        (ix) That the timely filing of a petition for hearing will stay the 
    commencement of collection proceedings;
        (x) That a final decision on the hearing, if one is requested, will 
    be issued at the earliest practicable date, but not later than 60 days 
    after the filing of the petition requesting the hearing unless the 
    staff member requests and the hearing official grants a delay in the 
    proceedings;
        (xi) That any knowingly false or frivolous statements, 
    representations, or evidence may subject the staff member to
        (A) Disciplinary procedures appropriate under Library of Congress 
    Regulation 2020-3, or any other applicable regulations or statutes,
        (B) Penalties under the False Claim Act, Section 3729 of Title 31, 
    U.S. Code, or any other applicable statutory authority, or
        (C) Criminal penalties under Sections 286, 287, 1001, and 1002 of 
    Title 18, U.S. Code, or any other applicable statutory authority;
        (xii) Any other rights and remedies available to the staff member 
    under statutes or regulations governing the program for which the 
    collection is being made;
        (xiii) Unless there are applicable contractual or statutory 
    provisions to the contrary, that amounts paid on or deducted for the 
    debt which are later waived or found not owed to the United States will 
    be promptly refunded to the staff member;
        (xiv) That if the staff member elects not to contest the 
    determination of indebtedness or the amount or the terms of a repayment 
    schedule, the staff member may still wish to exercise the right to 
    request a waiver of the collection of the indebtedness pursuant to the 
    provisions of Library of Congress Regulation 1556, Claims (if the 
    amount of the indebtedness exceeds $1,500, the staff member should be 
    advised that a final determination must be made by the Comptroller 
    General of the United States); and
        (xv) That any involuntary payments already made or withheld from 
    salary of any portion of the indebtedness will not be construed as a 
    waiver by the staff member of any rights that he or she may have under 
    this part.
        (2) Amount of deduction. If possible, the debt shall be collected 
    in one lump sum. If multiple deductions are necessary, however, the 
    amount deducted from a staff member's pay for any single period will 
    not exceed 15 percent of disposable pay, except that a greater 
    percentage may be deducted upon the written consent of the individual 
    involved. The staff member may enter into a written agreement for a 
    repayment schedule different from that proposed so long as the terms 
    are approved by the Library. If the individual retires or resigns or if 
    his or her employment otherwise ends before collection of the amount of 
    the indebtedness is completed, deduction shall be made from subsequent 
    payments of any nature due the individual.
        (3) Petitions for hearing. (i) To elect a hearing, the staff member 
    must notify the Director, Human Resources, no later than 15 days after 
    the receipt of the notification of indebtedness. A timely filing of a 
    petition for hearing will stay any further commencement of collection 
    proceedings. A final decision on the hearing will be issued at the 
    earliest practicable date, but not later than 60 days after the filing 
    of petition, unless the individual requests and the hearing official 
    grants a delay in the proceedings.
        (ii) The petition or statement must be signed by the staff member 
    and must fully identify and explain with reasonable specificity all the 
    facts, evidence, and witnesses, if any, which he or she believes 
    supports his or her position.
        (iii) Petitions for hearings made later than 15 days after the 
    receipt of the notification of indebtedness will be accepted provided 
    the staff member can show that the delay was because of circumstances 
    beyond his or her control or because of failure to receive notice of 
    the time limit (unless otherwise aware of it).
        (4) Form of hearings and final decisions. (i) The staff member 
    shall be provided an appropriate hearing as decided by the hearing 
    official, based on the nature of the transactions giving rise to the 
    debt. The hearing official shall be guided by the procedures set out in 
    4 CFR 102.3(c) in deciding on the type of hearing to provide.
        (ii) A written decision will be provided to the staff member and 
    must, at a minimum, state the fact(s) purported to support the nature 
    and origin of the alleged debt; the hearing official's analysis, 
    findings, and conclusions, in light of the hearing, as to the staff 
    member's or the Library's grounds; the amount and validity of the 
    alleged debt; and, where applicable, the repayment schedule.
        (d) Creditor agency is not the Library of Congress. When the 
    Library receives from a creditor agency a debt claim properly certified 
    in accordance with 5 CFR 550.1108(a), deductions shall be scheduled to 
    begin at the next officially established pay interval. The Director, 
    Human Resources, shall provide the employee with written notice stating 
    that the Library has received a certified debt claim from the creditor 
    agency (including the amount) and written notice of the date deductions 
    from salary will commence and of the amount of such deductions. When 
    the Library receives an incomplete debt claim from a creditor agency, 
    the Director, Human Resources, shall return the debt claim with a 
    written notice that procedures under 5 U.S.C. 5514 must be followed and 
    a properly determined debt claim received before action will be taken 
    to collect from the employee's pay account.
        (e) Exclusions and exceptions. (1) This part does not apply to 
    debts where collection of the debt is explicitly provided for or 
    prohibited by another statute, or to debts of $1 or less, which, it is 
    hereby determined, is not cost effective to attempt to collect (65 
    Comp. Gen. 843, September 29, 1986).
        (2) An exception to the entitlement of notice, hearings, written 
    responses, and final decisions provided for under paragraph (c) of this 
    section is made for overpayments arising out of an employee's election 
    of coverage or a change in coverage under a Federal benefits program 
    requiring periodic deductions from pay, if the amount to be recovered 
    was accumulated over four pay periods or less.
    
        Dated: July 18, 1994.
    James H. Billington,
    The Librarian of Congress.
    [FR Doc. 94-18400 Filed 7-27-94; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 1410-01-P
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
07/28/1994
Department:
Library of Congress
Entry Type:
Uncategorized Document
Action:
Final regulation.
Document Number:
94-18400
Dates:
July 28, 1994.
Pages:
0-0 (None pages)
Docket Numbers:
Federal Register: July 28, 1994, Docket No. LOC 94-1
CFR: (1)
36 CFR 705.1