1201.33—How will NARA coordinate salary offsets with other agencies?

(a) Responsibilities of NARA as the creditor agency (i.e. when the debtor owes a debt to NARA and is an employee of another agency). Upon completion of the procedures established in this subpart and pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 31 U.S.C. 3716, NARA must submit a claim to a paying agency or disbursing official.

(1) In its claim, NARA must certify, in writing, the following:

(i) That the employee owes the debt;

(ii) The amount and basis of the debt;

(iii) The date NARA's right to collect the debt first accrued;

(iv) That NARA's regulations in this subpart have been approved by OPM under 5 CFR part 550, subpart K; and

(v) That NARA has met the certification requirements of the paying agency.

(2) If the collection must be made in installments, NARA's claim will also advise the paying agency of the amount or percentage of disposable pay to be collected in each installment. NARA may also advise the paying agency of the number of installments to be collected and the date of the first installment, if that date is other than the next officially established pay period.

(3) NARA will also include in its claim:

(i) The employee's written consent to the salary offset;

(ii) The employee's signed statement acknowledging receipt of the procedures required by 5 U.S.C. 5514; or

(iii) Information regarding the completion of procedures required by 5 U.S.C. 5514, including the actions taken and the dates of those actions.

(4) 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, NARA must submit its claim to the paying agency or disbursing official for collection under 31 U.S.C. 3716. The paying agency will (under its regulations adopted under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 5 CFR part 550, subpart K), certify the total amount of its collection on the debt and notify the employee and NARA. 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, then (under its regulations adopted under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 5 CFR part 550, subpart K), the paying agency will provide written notice of the outstanding debt to the agency responsible for making the other payments to the debtor employee. The written notice will state that the employee owes a debt, the amount of the debt, and that the provisions of this section have been fully complied with. However, NARA must submit a properly certified claim under this paragraph (a)(4) to the agency responsible for making the other payments before the collection can be made.

(5) If the employee is already separated and all payments due from his or her former paying agency have been paid, NARA may request, unless otherwise prohibited, that money due and payable to the employee from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund or other similar funds be administratively offset to collect the debt.

(6) Employee transfer. When an employee transfers from one paying agency to another paying agency, NARA will not repeat the due process procedures described in 5 U.S.C. 5514 and this subpart to resume the collection. NARA will submit a properly certified claim to the new paying agency and will subsequently review the debt to ensure that the collection is resumed by the new paying agency.

(b) Responsibilities of NARA as the paying agency (i.e. when the debtor owes a debt to another agency and is an employee of NARA). (1) Complete claim. When NARA receives a certified claim from a creditor agency (under the creditor agency's regulations adopted under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 5 CFR part 550, subpart K), deductions should be scheduled to begin within three officially established pay intervals. Before deductions can begin, NARA sends the employee a written notice containing:

(i) A statement that NARA has received a certified claim from the creditor agency;

(ii) The amount of the claim;

(iii) The date salary offset deductions will begin; and

(iv) The amount of such deductions.

(2) Incomplete claim. When NARA receives an incomplete certification of debt from a creditor agency, NARA will return the claim with a notice that the creditor agency must:

(i) Comply with the procedures required under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 5 CFR part 550, subpart K, and

(ii) Properly certify a claim to NARA before NARA will take action to collect from the employee's current pay account.

(3) NARA 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 NARA to another paying agency. If, after the creditor agency has submitted the claim to NARA, the employee transfers from NARA to a different paying agency before the debt is collected in full, NARA will certify the total amount collected on the debt and notify the employee and the creditor agency in writing. The notification to the creditor agency will include information on the employee's transfer.