P.S. Docket No. AO 14-35


April 7, 2014

In the Matter of the Petition by

MARGARET L. MARSHALL

P.S. Docket No. AO 14-35

APPEARANCE FOR PETITIONER:
Margaret L. Marshall

APPEARANCE FOR RESPONDENT:
Albert Martinez
Labor Relations Specialist
United States Postal Service

INITIAL DECISION

Respondent, United States Postal Service, seeks to collect a $409.52 debt from Petitioner, Margaret Marshall, a Postal Service retiree. The Postal Service alleges that Ms. Marshall had a negative annual leave balance when she retired. Based on that negative balance, the Postal Service seeks to collect the value of the annual leave by administrative offset. I find that Ms. Marshall is liable for the debt and that the Postal Service may collect the debt by administrative offset.

FINDINGS OF FACT

  1. At the end of 2000, Ms. Marshall had a negative annual leave balance of 8 hours (Exh. 2).
  2. At the beginning of 2001, the Postal Service advanced 160 hours of annual leave to Ms. Marshall, leaving her with a new balance of 152 hours (Exh. 1).
  3. During 2001, Ms. Marshall used 172.8 hours of annual leave, leaving her with a negative balance of 20.8 hours (Exhs. 3 – 5).
  4. During the time that she took annual leave in 2001, Ms. Marshall had an annual salary of $40,952 (Exhs. 3 – 5). An annual salary of $40,952 divided by 2080 (the number of hours in a work-year) equates to an hourly salary of $19.6884 per hour.
  5. Ms. Marshall retired in March 2013 with that same negative annual leave balance of 20.8 hours1(Exh. 1).
  6. On December 31, 2013, the Postal Service issued a Notice of Intention to Collect a Debt by Administrative Offset Under the Debt Collection Act seeking to collect the $409.52 debt by administrative offset (Attachment to Petition). Ms. Marshall did not ask for reconsideration of the debt, which normally precedes review by the Judicial Officer Department. Instead, she filed a hearing request with this office in January 2014. Thereafter, in March 2014, both parties waived reconsideration (Order and Memorandum of Telephone Conference, March 27, 2014).

DECISION

The Postal Service bears the initial burden to prove the existence and amount of the debt. Here, the Postal Service has met that burden. First, the Postal Service has proved that Ms. Marshall had a negative balance of 20.8 hours when she retired (Finding 3). A retiring-employee’s negative annual leave balance equates to a salary overpayment, which in turn entitles the Postal Service to recover the monetary value of that annual leave under the Debt Collection Act. Glenda A. Marshall, P.S. Docket No. AO 13-376 (I.D. February 27, 2014).

Second, as to the amount of the debt, the Postal Service seeks to collect $409.52 from Ms. Marshall. Although not explicitly stated, that amount equates to 20.8 hours multiplied by her hourly salary of $19.6884. Thus, the amount of the debt sought by the Postal Service exactly corresponds to Ms. Marshall’s hourly salary multiplied by the negative number of hours in her annual leave account.

Although she was afforded an opportunity to do so, Ms. Marshall has not provided any evidence or argument rebutting the evidence submitted by the Postal Service. In the absence of any evidence or argument challenging either the existence or the amount of the debt, I find that the Postal Service is entitled to collect the debt.

Accordingly, the Petition is denied. The Postal Service may collect $409.52 from Ms. Marshall by administrative offset.

Alan R. Caramella

Administrative Judge

1 The record does not include evidence (1) showing why Ms. Marshall’s annual leave balance did not change between 2001 and 2013, or (2) explaining why the Postal Service delayed collection of the debt accrued in 2001. During a March 13, 2014 conference call, however, the parties suggested that Ms. Marshall began working for a labor union in 2001. Although she worked for the labor union, she apparently had an option to return to employment with the Postal Service. Thus, her Postal Service employment record remained open until 2013 when she retired. These events are noted merely to provide context for the fact that Ms. Marshall’s annual leave balance did not change between 2001 and 2013.