[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 5, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 5CFR179.213]

[Page 36-37]
 
                    TITLE 5--ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL
 
                CHAPTER I--OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
 
PART 179_CLAIMS COLLECTION STANDARDS--Table of Contents
 
                         Subpart B_Salary Offset
 
Sec. 179.213  Coordinating salary offset with other agencies.

    (a) Responsibility of OPM as the creditor agency. (1) The Director 
or his or her designee shall coordinate debt collections with other 
agencies and shall, as appropriate:
    (i) Arrange for a hearing or special review upon proper petitioning 
by a Federal employee; and
    (ii) Prescribe, upon consultation with the General Counsel, such 
additional practices and procedures as may be necessary to carry out the 
intent of this regulation.
    (2) The designated salary offset coordinator will be responsible 
for:
    (i) Ensuring that each notice of intent to offset is consistent with 
the requirements of Sec. 179.206;
    (ii) Ensuring that each certification of debt that is sent to a 
paying agency is consistent with the requirements of Sec. 179.208;
    (iii) Obtaining hearing officials from other agencies pursuant to 
Sec. 179.207(f); and
    (iv) Ensuring that hearings are properly scheduled.
    (3) Requesting recovery from current paying agency. Upon completion 
of the procedures established in these regulations and pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 5514, the Office must:
    (i) Certify, in writing, to the paying agency that the employee owes 
the debt, the amount and basis of the debt, the date on which payment(s) 
is due, the date the Government's right to collect the debt first 
accrued, and that the Office's regulations implementing 5 U.S.C. 5514 
have been approved by the Office of Personnel Management;
    (ii) Advise the paying agency of the amount or percentage of 
disposable pay to be collected in each installment and the number and 
commencing date of the installments (if a date other than the next 
officially established pay period is required);
    (iii) Advise the paying agency of the action(s) taken under 5 U.S.C. 
5514(b) and give the date(s) and action(s) was taken (unless the 
employee has consented to the salary offset in writing or signed a 
statement acknowledging receipt of the required procedures and the 
written consent or statement is forwarded to the paying agency);
    (iv) Submit a debt claim certification containing the information 
specified in paragraphs (a)(3)(i), (a)(3)(ii) and (a)(3)(iii) of this 
section and an installment agreement (or other instruction on the 
payment schedule), if applicable, to the employee's paying agency; and
    (v) Submit the debt claim, as provided in Sec. 179.208, to the 
employee's paying agency for collection 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 paying agency must 
certify the total amount of its collection on the debt and send a copy 
of the certification to the employee and another copy to the creditor 
agency. 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, the paying agency will provide written notification 
of the outstanding debt to the agency responsible for making such other 
payments to the debtor employee. The written notification shall state 
that the employee owes a debt (including the amount) and that the 
provisions of this section have been fully complied with. The Office 
must submit a properly certified claim to the agency responsible for 
making such payments before the collection can be made.
    (4) Separated employee. If the employee is already separated and all 
payments due from his or her former paying agency have been paid, the 
Office may request, unless otherwise prohibited, that money due and 
payable to the employee from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability 
Fund (5 CFR 831.1801 et seq. or 5 CFR 845.401 et seq.) or other similar 
funds, be administratively offset to collect the debt (31 U.S.C. 3716 
and the FCCS).
    (5) Employee transfer. When an employee transfers from one paying 
agency to another paying agency, the Office

[[Page 37]]

is not required to repeat the due process procedures described in 5 
U.S.C. 5514 and this subpart to resume the collection. The Office will 
submit a properly certified claim to the new paying agency and will 
subsequently review the debt to make sure the collection is resumed by 
the new paying agency.
    (b) Responsibility of the Office as the paying agency--(1) Complete 
claim. When the Office receives a certified claim from a creditor 
agency, deductions should be scheduled to begin at the next officially 
established pay interval. Before deductions can begin, the employee must 
receive written notice from the Office including:
    (i) A statement that the Office has received a certified debt claim 
from the creditor agency;
    (ii) The amount of the debt claim;
    (iii) The date salary offset deductions will begin, and
    (iv) The amount of such deductions.
    (2) Incomplete claim. When the Office receives an incomplete 
certification of debt from a creditor agency, the Office must return the 
debt claim with notice that procedures under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 5 CFR 
550.1101 et seq. must be followed and a properly certified debt claim 
received before action will be taken to collect from the employee's 
current pay account.
    (3) Review. The Office 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 one paying agency to another. If, 
after the creditor agency has submitted the debt claim to the Office, 
the employee transfers from OPM to a different paying agency before the 
debt is collected in full, the Office will certify the total amount 
collected on the debt. One copy of the certification will be furnished 
to the employee and one copy to the creditor agency along with notice of 
the employee's transfer.