These regulations apply to the collection, by salary offset, of any debt owed the Postal Service by a current employee who is not included in a collective bargaining unit. The regulations in 452.3 may also apply to the collection of any debt owed the Postal Service by a current employee who is included in a collective bargaining unit.
Employees have the right to representation and free choice of representative. If the employee’s designated representative is a Postal Service employee in a duty status, the representative is granted a reasonable amount of official time to perform any function for the employee that is authorized by these regulations.
The following definitions apply to the material in this subchapter:
- Administrative salary offset — the collection of a debt owed to the Postal Service or other government agency through deductions from the disposable pay of a Postal Service employee under the authority of section 5 of the Debt Collection Act of 1982, 5 U.S.C. 5514(a).
- Court judgment salary offset — the collection of a debt owed to the Postal Service or other government agency through deductions from the current pay of a Postal Service employee under the authority of section 124 of Public Law 97-276.
- Current pay or disposable pay — that part of an employee’s salary that remains after all required deductions (normal retirement contributions, FICA and Medicare insurance taxes, federal income tax, state and local income taxes, and employee-paid federal health insurance premiums) are made.
- Debt — any outstanding amount owed to the Postal Service by an employee.
- Employee — a current employee of the Postal Service.
- Pay — basic pay, special pay, incentive pay, retired pay, retainer pay, or any other authorized pay, including cost-of-living adjustment or territorial cost-of-living allowance, received by an employee.
- Postmaster or installation head — the top management official at a Post Office or installation or the official who has supervisory responsibility for a debtor employed at Headquarters or in area offices. When the debtor is a postmaster or installation head, the term refers to the official to whom the postmaster or installation head reports.
- Waiver — the Postal Service’s cancellation, remission, or forgiveness of a debt, the recovery of which these regulations cover.
In computing any period of time these regulations prescribe or allow, the day the designated period of time begins to run is not included. The last day of the period computed is included, unless it is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, in which event the period runs until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.
If an employee requests a waiver of a debt, the recovery of which these regulations cover, that request does not stay the collection process. However, if the Postal Service ultimately grants the waiver request, the Postal Service refunds the amount collected to the employee.
The Postal Service will deliver to an employee by trackable mail any notice required by, or any records requested pursuant to, these regulations.
