[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 45, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 45CFR33.7]

[Page 115-116]
 
                        TITLE 45--PUBLIC WELFARE
 
                           AND HUMAN SERVICES
 
PART 33_SALARY OFFSET--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 33.7  Obtaining the services of a hearing official.

    (a)(1) When the Department is the creditor agency, the office 
designated in Sec. 33.4(a)(10) shall schedule a hearing, if one is 
requested by an employee, before a hearing official.
    (2) When the Department cannot provide a prompt and appropriate 
hearing before an administrative law judge or a hearing official 
furnished pursuant to another lawful arrangement, the office designated 
in Sec. 33.4(a)(10) may:
    (i) When the debtor is not an employee of the Department, contact an 
agent of the employee's paying agency designated in 5 CFR part 581, 
Appendix A, to arrange for a hearing official; or
    (ii) When the debtor is an employee of the Department, contact an 
agent of any agency designated in 5 CFR part 581, Appendix A, to arrange 
for a hearing official.
    (b)(1) When another agency is the creditor agency, it is the 
responsibility of that agency to arrange for a hearing if one is 
requested. The Department will provide a hearing official upon the 
request of a creditor agency when the debtor is employed by the 
Department and the creditor agency cannot provide a prompt and 
appropriate hearing before a hearing official furnished pursuant to 
another lawful arrangement.
    (2) Services rendered to a creditor agency under paragraph (b)(1) of 
this section will be provided on a fully reimbursable basis pursuant to 
the Economy Act of 1932, as amended, 31 U.S.C. 1535.
    (c) The determination of a hearing official designated under this 
section is considered to be an official certification regarding the 
existence and amount of the debt for purposes of executing salary offset 
under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and this part. A creditor agency may make a 
certification to the Secretary of the Treasury under 5 CFR 550.1108 or a 
paying agency under 5 CFR 550.1109 regarding the existence and amount of 
the debt based on the certification of a hearing official. If a hearing 
official determines that a debt may not be collected via salary offset, 
but the creditor agency finds that the debt is still valid, the creditor 
agency may still seek collection of the debt through

[[Page 116]]

other means, such as offset of other Federal payments or litigation.