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.
Bargaining unit employees or their union have the right in accordance with the provisions of Article 15 of the applicable collective bargaining agreement to initiate a grievance concerning any letter of demand to challenge the following:
- The existence of a debt owed to the Postal Service.
- The amount of such debt.
- The proposed repayment schedule.
- Any other issue arising under Article 28 of the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
The Postal Service must ensure that any letter of demand served on an employee provides notice of the employee’s right to challenge the demand under the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
If the Postal Service intends to proceed with the collection of the debt, statutory offset procedures in 452.3 apply (also see 462.32), including the right to petition for a hearing after the employee’s receipt of a Notice of Involuntary Administrative Salary Offsets Under the Debt Collection Act, under the following circumstances:
- Failure to initiate a grievance in time — if a bargaining unit employee or the employee’s union does not initiate, within 14 days of the employee’s receipt of a letter of demand, a grievance challenging one or more of the following:
- The existence of a debt owed to the Postal Service.
- The amount of such debt.
- The proposed repayment schedule.
- Failure to advance a grievance in time — if a bargaining unit employee or the employee’s union initiates a grievance in time challenging one or more of the following, but the employee’s union, following receipt of a decision denying the grievance, does not advance the grievance to the next step of the grievance procedure within the time limits set in Article 15 of the applicable collective bargaining agreement:
- The existence of a debt owed to the Postal Service.
- The amount of such debt.
- The proposed repayment schedule.
- Partial settlement of a grievance — if a grievance challenging one or more of the following is resolved at any stage of the grievance–arbitration procedure through a written settlement agreement between the Postal Service and the union under which the employee remains liable for all or a portion of the debt:
- The existence of a debt owed to the Postal Service.
- The amount of such debt.
- The proposed repayment schedule.
If the employee petitions for a hearing under 452.335, the Postal Service is free to pursue collection of the full amount of the debt before the hearing officer, notwithstanding the settlement with the union. However, if any contractual issue is resolved at any stage of the grievance–arbitration procedure, the settlement of that issue is final and binding.
- Ruling of nonarbitrability — if an arbitrator rules that a grievance concerning any letter of demand is not arbitrable.
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. The Postal Service will deduct 15 percent of an individual’s disposable pay (see 462.42). If the individual’s employment ends before collection of the full debt, the Postal Service may make deductions from subsequent payments of any nature due the employee.
At least 30 calendar days before making an administrative offset under this authority, the Postal Service will issue required notices to the employee’s address on record. If an employee does not receive a notice, the postmaster or installation head will provide the following to the employee:
- A copy of the Notice of Involuntary Administrative Salary Offsets Under the Debt Collection Act containing the information in 452.322.
- A copy of the procedures that govern hearings under the Debt Collection Act that are in 39 CFR Part 961. Copies are also available at www.gpo.gov.
In accordance with 39 CFR 961.3, any individual who is not under the control or supervision of the postmaster general and who the judicial officer designates as a hearing official may conduct administrative hearings under the Debt Collection Act.
If an arbitrator opens a hearing on the merits of a grievance concerning any letter of demand, statutory offset procedures in 452.3 do not apply thereafter, unless one of the following occurs:
- The arbitrator makes a ruling of nonarbitrability (see 462.22d).
- The Postal Service and the union negotiate a partial settlement of the grievance (see 462.22c).
The Postal Service will stay the collection of the debt until after the disposition of the grievance, petition, or both through settlement or exhaustion of the contractual or administrative remedies, whenever at least one of the following occurs:
- A grievance concerning any letter of demand has been initiated timely, in accordance with Article 15 of the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
- A petition for a hearing has been filed timely, in accordance with 462.22, regardless of the type and amount of the debt.
Except as specified in 463, the maximum salary offset to collect a debt that is owed to the Postal Service is 15 percent of an employee’s biweekly disposable pay, or 20 percent of the employee’s biweekly gross pay, whichever amount is lower when the salary offset started. A greater salary offset may be made if the employee agrees with the Postal Service, in writing, on such greater amount.
An employee who acknowledges the debt’s validity and wishes to pay the debt in full may submit payment to the Eagan Accounting Service Center (ASC), as described in 452.242.
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.
After the applicable procedural requirements have been followed, the Postal Service will automatically initiate payroll deductions.
