The Commission collects debts owed by employees to the Federal Government by means of salary offset under the authority of: 5 U.S.C. 5514; 31 U.S.C. 3716; 5 CFR part 550, subpart K; 31 CFR 285.7; and this subpart. Salary offset is applicable when the Commission is attempting to collect a debt owed by an individual employed by the Commission or another agency.

Nothing in the regulations in this subpart precludes the compromise, suspension, or termination of collection actions under the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966, as amended, or the Federal Claims Collection Standards.

A levy pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code takes precedence over a salary offset under this subpart, as provided in 5 U.S.C. 5514(d) and 31 U.S.C. 3716.

The regulations in this subpart do not apply to any case where collection of a debt by salary offset is explicitly prohibited by another statute.

This subpart's regulations covering notice, hearing, written responses, and final decisions do not apply to:

Any routine intra-agency adjustment in pay that is attributable to clerical or administrative error or delay in processing pay documents that have occurred within the four pay periods preceding the adjustment, or any adjustment to collect a debt amounting to $50 or less. However, at the time of any adjustment, or as soon thereafter as possible, the Commission's payroll agency will provide the employee with a written notice of the nature and amount of the adjustment and a contact point for appealing the adjustment.

Any negative adjustment to pay that arises from the debtor'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 or fewer pay periods. However, at the time of the adjustment, the Commission's payroll agent will provide in the debtor's earnings statement a clear statement informing the debtor of the previous overpayment.

An employee's involuntary payment of all or any of the debt through salary offset will not be construed as a waiver of any rights that the employee may have under the law, unless there are statutory or contractual provisions to the contrary.