May 31, 2000 In the Matter of the Petition by J. C. GILLS 146 East C Street at Port Hueneme, CA 93041-2722 P.S. Docket No. DCA 00-124 APPEARANCE FOR PETITIONER: J. C. Gills 146 East C Street Port Hueneme, CA 93041-2722 APPEARANCE FOR RESPONDENT: Tom Cloonan Labor Relations Specialist United States Postal Service 1961 North C Street Oxnard, CA 93030-9403
DECISION ON MOTION TO DISMISS
Petitioner, J.C. Gills, filed a Petition challenging Respondent’s deductions from his salary without first giving him a Notice of Involuntary Administrative Salary Offsets as required by Section 5 of the Debt Collection Act and 39 C.F.R. Part 961. Respondent has filed a motion to dismiss the Petition, contending that Postal Service hearing officials do not have jurisdiction to review the particular deductions, which were implemented to collect a debt claimed by another federal agency.
The following findings of fact are made for the purpose of deciding this motion to dismiss.
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. On or about October 17, 1997, the United States Office of Personnel Management ("OPM") notified Respondent in writing that Petitioner, an employee of the Postal Service, owed OPM $21,991.30 resulting from an overpayment to Petitioner from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability fund. The writer of the letter certified that the debt was properly due the United States. (Respondent’s Motion, Exhibit 8).
2. Thereafter, no later than August 1998, Respondent began deductions from Petitioner’s salary of $150.85 each payday (Respondent’s Motion, Exhibit 4; Petition).
3. Petitioner complained about the deductions in August 1998, but they continued. (Respondent’s Motion, Exhibit 4).
4. On March 31, 2000, Petitioner wrote to the Judicial Officer Department complaining that the deductions had been commenced without issuance of a Notice of Involuntary Administrative Salary Offsets as required by 39 C.F.R. Part 961 (Petition).
5. Petitioner’s March 31, 2000 letter was docketed as his Petition in this matter, and Respondent filed a motion to dismiss the Petition.
DECISION
Respondent argues that the Postal Service regulations authorizing Debt Collection Act hearings for employees do not apply to Petitioner’s circumstances and that the hearing official is without jurisdiction to consider Petitioner’s challenge to the salary offsets. Petitioner argues that the hearing official is authorized to address whether Petitioner was afforded proper notice and due process before the deductions were commenced.
The Debt Collection Act (5 U.S.C. 5514, as amended (Exhibit 27)) describes the process to be afforded an employee of the Postal Service before deductions may be made from his current pay on account of a debt claimed by the United States. 5 U.S.C. §5514 (a) (2). Where the debt is not owed to the employing agency, it is the agency holding the debt—in this case OPM—that is obliged to provide the prescribed process for the employee. 5 U.S.C. §5514 (a) (2); see 5 C.F.R. Subpart M—Collection of Debts (owed to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund). The Act authorizes the employing agency—here the Postal Service—to make deductions from an employee’s salary to collect a debt owed the United States when "notified of such a debt by the head of another agency or his designee." See 5 C.F.R. Subpart L—Collection by Offset From Indebted Government Employees. The Act does not require that the employing agency afford the employee any particular notice, hearing or other process before implementing the salary offsets requested by the creditor agency.
Additionally, Postal Service regulations that authorize hearings before deductions are made from an employee’s current pay for an indebtedness do not provide for a hearing under Petitioner’s circumstances. Those regulations afford employees certain procedural rights, including notice and an opportunity for a hearing, before Respondent implements a salary offset in order to satisfy a debt due the Postal Service. Employee and Labor Relations Manual 15.1, May 4, 2000, Sections 452.31 and 462.31; 39 C.F.R. §961.2. Those regulations do not authorize this office to address Petitioner’s challenge to the salary deductions implemented at OPM’s request. In fact, the Employee and Labor Relations Manual specifically directs readers to Handbook F-16, Accounts Receivable, Chapter 7, for regulations governing involuntary offsets from salary to collect a debt owed to another federal agency. Employee and Labor Relations Manual 15.1, May 4, 2000, Sections 451.3 and 461.2. The provisions in the F-16 Handbook of February 1990 do not provide for a hearing for the employee or for consideration of the propriety of the collection by this office.
Accordingly, this Petition is dismissed.
Norman D. Menegat Administrative Judge