Various circumstances may generate a debt subject to collection under this subchapter. These may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Payroll.
- Adjustments.
- Field shortages, such as stock and cash shortages.
- Advances.
Each postmaster, installation head, and designee is responsible for the following:
- Monitoring the debt-collection process.
- Maintaining supporting documentation.
- Ensuring that the debt is resolved.
The procedures in this section are intended to facilitate the informal resolution of employee-owed debts.
The Postal Service will send the employee an invoice reflecting an employee-owed debt with written notice of the Postal Service’s determination of the existence, nature, and amount of the debt.
Employees who must repay a debt may do either of the following:
- Pay in Full. Employees who want to repay the entire debt must do the following:
- Submit a check or money order to the appropriate official and address listed on the employee’s “Letter of Debt Determination – Nonbargaining.”
- Write the employee’s Employee Identification Number (EIN) on the check or money order.
- Write the check or money order for the full amount due.
- Submit the check or money order no later than 30 calendar days from the date the employee received the letter if the employee does not request copies of postal records relating to the debt, or within 15 calendar days from the date the employee received requested records.
- To pay by credit or debit card, employees must have a valid email address and send an email with their name, employee ID number, invoice number, and total amount to be paid to YVVQJ0@usps.gov. They will receive an email with a secure link to pay online. Employees with questions about paying by credit or debit card may call the Financial Processing phone number at the top of the invoice.
- Consent to Offsets. Employees who would like to repay the debt voluntarily through offsets of 15 percent or more of their disposable pay must do the following:
- Contact the appropriate official at the address listed on the employee’s “Letter of Debt Determination – Nonbargaining.”
- Complete the Employee Debt Modification Request through eIWS OnLIne forms no later than 30 calendar days from the date the employee received the letter if the employee does not request copies of postal records relating to the debt, or within 15 calendar days from the date the employee received any requested records. If necessary, this request form can be initiated with the local supervisor’s or manager’s assistance.
Employees who would like copies of records relating to a postal debt must notify the postmaster or installation head in writing within 10 calendar days of receiving notice of the Postal Service’s determination of a debt. The postmaster or installation head is responsible for the following:
- Requesting copies of the pertinent records by telephone, if necessary, from the Eagan Accounting Service Center (ASC), appropriate postal facility, or both.
- Providing the employee with copies of these records within 5 calendar days of receiving the employee’s written request.
Until collection of the debt is completed, the postmaster or installation head must keep a copy of all records provided to the employee.
Employees who acknowledge the validity of the Postal Service’s claim and wish to repay the entire debt must do one of the following:
- Submit a Check or Money Order. Employees must print their EIN on the check or money order and include the bottom portion of the invoice when they mail the money order or check to the following address:
USPS Disbursing Office
2825 Lone Oak Pkwy
Eagan MN 55121-9640
- Pay by Credit or Debit Card. To pay by credit or debit card, employees must have a valid email address and send an email with their name, employee ID number, invoice number and total amount to be paid to YVVQJ0@usps.gov. The employee will receive an email with a secure link to pay online. Employees with questions about paying by credit or debit card may call the Financial Processing phone number at the top of the invoice.
Under section 5 of the Debt Collection Act, 5 U.S.C. 5514(a) (1982), the Postal Service may, after providing certain procedural rights, offset an employee’s salary to satisfy any debt due the Postal Service. If the individual’s employment ends before the full debt is collected, the Postal Service may make deductions from subsequent payments of any nature due the employee.
If the employee fails to resolve a debt within 15 days of receiving a Letter of Debt Determination, the Eagan ASC will provide the employee with the following:
- A Notice of Involuntary Administrative Salary Offsets Under the Debt Collection Act (see 452.322).
- A copy of the procedures that govern hearings under section 5 of the Debt Collection Act.
The notice will explain the employee’s procedural rights, including the right to petition the Postal Service judicial officer for a hearing to challenge the existence or the amount of the debt or the Postal Service’s proposed offset schedule. If the employee fails to petition the judicial officer within the applicable time frames (see 452.335) or to take other action to stay collection, the Eagan ASC will implement an appropriate salary offset no sooner than 30 days after the date of the notice.
The notice required by 452.321 must notify the employee of the following:
- The name, work address, and telephone number of the postmaster or installation head issuing the notice.
- The Postal Service’s determination of the existence and amount of the debt.
- The nature of the debt.
- The Postal Service’s intention to collect the amount due by offsetting 15 percent of the employee’s “disposable pay” (or the alternative amount determined for a bargaining unit employee as provided in 462.42) each pay period.
- The procedural rights available to the employee, as well as the appropriate method for requesting them. These rights include an opportunity to:
- Obtain copies of Postal Service records relating to the debt.
- Avoid the need for involuntary offsets by paying the debt in full.
Employees may pursue as many options available to them as they wish. However, employees must submit a petition for a hearing on the Postal Service’s determination of the existence or amount of a debt, or on the terms of the Postal Service’s proposed repayment schedule, on or before the 15th calendar day following the employee’s receipt of the Notice of Involuntary Administrative Salary Offsets Under the Debt Collection Act. Employees able to resolve the debt through another available option after requesting a hearing may withdraw their hearing petition, and the case may be dismissed.
If an employee wishes copies of records, the following procedures apply:
- Employee Must Submit Request. Within 10 calendar days after receiving notice of the Postal Service’s intention to collect a debt through involuntary salary offsets and before any requested hearing is held, bargaining unit and nonbargaining unit employees have the following options:
- Nonbargaining unit employees — may request copies of any records they did not previously obtain under 452.241 related to the debt.
- Bargaining unit employees — may request copies of any records they or the employee’s union did not previously obtain under 462.21.
Employees must request in writing copies of postal records relating to an alleged debt and direct the request to the postmaster or installation head.
- Postmaster or Installation Head Must Respond. The postmaster or installation head must take care to respond expeditiously to records requests so as not to deprive an employee of the benefit of any information that might resolve questions relating to the debt. Once a request is received, the postmaster or installation head must do the following:
- Promptly request, as necessary, copies of the pertinent records by telephone from the Eagan ASC or appropriate postal facility.
- Provide the employee, within 5 calendar days of receiving the employee’s request, with copies of all records requested.
Employees who wish to pay off an entire debt may do one of the following:
- Submit a check or money order to the postmaster or installation head for transmittal to the Eagan ASC within 10 calendar days after receiving written notice of the Postal Service’s intention to collect the debt through involuntary salary offsets. Employees must do the following:
- Write their employee ID number on the check or money order.
- Send the check or money order to the following address:
USPS Disbursing Office
2825 Lone Oak Pkwy
Eagan MN 55121-9640
- Pay by credit or debit card. To pay by credit or debit card, employees must have a valid email address and send an email with their name, employee ID number, invoice number and total amount to be paid to YVVQJ0@usps.gov. The employee will receive an email with a secure link to pay online. Employees with questions about paying by credit or debit card may call the Financial Processing phone number at the top of the invoice.
Employees who acknowledge the Postal Service’s claim, but contend that the proposed deductions of 15 percent of disposable pay (or the alternative amount determined for bargaining unit employees as specified in 462.42) would be too severe may propose an alternative offset schedule. Procedures for submitting the proposal include the following:
- Proposal Contents. Employees must submit the proposed offset schedule to the district finance manager and include in it the employee’s reasons for believing the Postal Service’s proposed deductions would result in a severe financial hardship. The proposal must include:
- A written statement.
- The amount total to be paid each pay period.
- The number of pay periods required to repay the debt.
- The date the first payment would be made.
- Supporting documentation. Supporting documents must show the following information relating to the employee and his or her spouse and dependent for the 1-year period preceding the Postal Service’s notice and the repayment period proposed in the employee’s alternative offset schedule:
- Total family income.
- Assets and liabilities.
- Number of dependents.
- Total expenses for food, housing, clothing, transportation, medical care, and any exceptional expenses.
Employees must provide all information in their possession relating to the debt and their financial ability to repay it so that the district finance manager may make an informed decision on the employee’s request.
- Time Frame. Employees must submit their proposed alternative repayment schedule to the district finance manager within 5 days after receiving notice of the Postal Service’s intention to collect an outstanding debt through involuntary salary offsets.
- Consideration. Based upon the material submitted by the employee and postal records relating to the debt, the district finance manager must consider the following:
- The extent to which the assets of the employee and his or her spouse and dependents are available to meet their essential material expenses and to repay the postal debt.
- Whether the essential material expenses have been minimized as much as possible.
- The extent to which the employee and his or her spouse and dependents can borrow to finance their essential expenses and to repay the debt.
The district finance manager should approve the employee’s alternative offset schedule only if it provides for installment payments that bear a reasonable relationship to the size of the debt and the employee’s ability to pay. Generally, an alternative offset schedule should provide for installment payments of no less than 10 percent of disposable pay per pay period, and for a repayment period of 26 pay periods or less.
- Notification. The district finance manager must notify the employee in writing of his or her decision regarding the employee’s proposed alternative offset schedule within 10 calendar days of receiving it from the employee.
- Implementation. The district finance manager and the employee must implement the terms of an acceptable alternative repayment agreement by completing the Employee Debt Modification Request form in eIWS OnLine forms. If necessary, this request form can be initiated with the local supervisor’s or manager’s assistance.
If an employee wishes to request a hearing, the employee and the Postal Service proceed as follows:
- Hearing Request. If an employee desires a hearing prescribed by section 5 of the Debt Collection Act of 1982 on the Postal Service’s determination of the existence or amount of the debt, or on the involuntary repayment terms the Postal Service proposed, the employee must file a written petition for a hearing in accordance with the requirements of 39 CFR 961.4. The employee must file the petition in one of the following ways:
- Electronically, using the judicial officer’s electronic filing system at https://uspsjoe.justware.com/justiceweb.
- By hardcopy, mailed to the following address:
RECORDER
JUDICIAL OFFICER
US POSTAL SERVICE
2101 WILSON BLVD STE 600
ARLINGTON VA 22201–3078
The employee must file the petition on or before the 15th calendar day following the employee’s receipt of the Notice of Involuntary Administrative Salary Offsets Under the Debt Collection Act. The hearing procedures are in 39 CFR Part 961, which the Postal Service has incorporated for reference.
- Pre-Decision Responsibilities. After an employee has requested a hearing, the general counsel notifies the appropriate postmaster or installation head and Labor Relations department, and the Eagan ASC of the filing. Upon notification, all collection activities must stop.
- Post-Decision Responsibilities. After an employee is granted a requested hearing and a written decision has been rendered, the general counsel notifies the appropriate postmaster or installation head and district Labor Relations, and the Eagan ASC of the determination. If the hearing decision indicates that the employee is not indebted to the Postal Service, Eagan ASC must take the necessary steps to remove all references to the debt from the employee’s records. However, if the decision authorizes the Postal Service to offset an employee’s salary, the Postal Service must take steps to initiate the authorized offsets.
If, upon receiving notice of the Postal Service’s intention to collect a debt through involuntary salary offsets, the employee fails to repay the debt and does not request a hearing on the Postal Service’s determination of the debt, the Postal Service will collect the debt by automatic payroll deductions at a rate of 15 percent.
- The procedures governing the collection of postal debts contained in 452.2 and 452.3 do not apply to the following:
- Amounts to be collected that arose from the employee’s election of coverage or change of coverage under a federal benefits program requiring periodic deductions from pay, and that accumulated over four pay periods or less;
- Routine intra-agency adjustments of pay that are attributable to clerical or administrative errors or delays in processing pay documents that occurred within the four pay periods preceding the pay period in which the first adjustment is made, provided the individual is given notice in accordance with 452.4b; or
- Any adjustment that amounts to $50 or less, provided the individual is given notice in accordance with 452.4b
- At the time the first adjustment is made as specified in 452.4a2 and 452.4a3, or as soon afterward as practical, the Postal Service must provide the individual written notice of the nature and the amount of the debt and adjustments and a point of contact for contesting collection.
