was taken, unless the employee has consented to salary offset in writing or signed a statement acknowledging receipt of procedures required by law. The written consent or acknowledgement must be sent to the paying agenсу;

(5) If the employee is in the process of separating, the Commission will submit its debt claim to the paying agency as provided in this part. The paying agency must certify any amounts already collected, notify the employee, and send a copy of the certification of the monies already collected and notice of the employee's separation to the Commission. If the paying agency is aware that the employee is entitled to Civil Service or Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund or similar payments, it must provide written notification to the agency responsible for making such payments stating the amount of the debt and indicating that the provisions of this part have been followed; and

(6) If the employee has already separated and all payments due from the paying agency have been paid, the Assistant Staff Director for Management may request, unless otherwise prohibited, that money payable to the employee from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund or other similar funds be collected by administrative offset. The Commission will provide the agency responsible for these payments with a properly certified claim.

(b) The Commission is the paying agency when an employee of this agency owes a debt to another Federal agency which is the creditor agency.

(1) Upon receipt of a properly certified debt claim from a creditor agency, deductions will be scheduled to begin at the next established pay interval.

(2) The Commission must give the employee written notice that it has received a certified debt claim from a creditor agency (including the amount), and the date that deductions will be scheduled to begin and the amount of the deduction.

(3) The Commission shall not review the merits of the creditor agency's determination of the amount of the certified claim or of its validity.

(4) If the employee transfers to another paying agency after the creditor agency has submitted its debt claim but before the debt is collected completely, the Commission must certify the total amount collected to the creditor agency with notice of the employee's transfer. One copy of this certification must be furnished to the employee. The creditor agency will submit a properly certified claim to the new paying agency before collection can be resumed.

(5) When the Commission, as a paying agency, receives an incomplete debt claim from a creditor agency, it must return the debt claim with a notice that procedures under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and this subpart must be provided and a properly certified debt claim received before action will be taken to collect from the employee's current pay account.

§ 708.10 Procedures for salary offset.

(a) Deductions to liquidate an employee's debt will be by the method and in the amount stated in the Assistant Staff Director for Management's written notice of intent to collect from the employee's current pay, unless alternative arrangements for repayment are made.

(b) If the employee filed a petition for a hearing with the Assistant Staff Director for Management before the expiration of the period provided, then deductions will begin after the hearing official has provided the employee with a hearing, and a final written decision has been rendered in favor of the Commission.

(c) A debt will be collected in a lumpsum if possible.

(d) If an employee is financially unable to pay in one lump sum or the amount of the debt exceeds 15 percent of disposable pay for an officially established pay interval, collection must be made in installments. The size of the installment deduction(s) will bear a reasonable relationship to the size of the debt and the deduction will be established for a period not greater than the anticipated period of employment. The deduction for the pay intervals for any period must not exceed 15% of disposable pay unless the employee has agreed in writing to a deduction of a

greater amount. If possible, the installment payment will be sufficient in size and frequency to liquidate the debt in no more than three years.

(e) Installment payments may be less than 15 percent of disposable pay if the Assistant Staff Director for Management determines that the 15 percent deduction would create an extreme financial hardship.

(f) Installment payments of less than $25.00 per pay period or $50.00 per month, will only be accepted in the most unusual circumstances.

(g) Unliquidated debts may be offset by the paying agency under 31 U.S.C. 3716 against any financial payment due to a separating employee including but not limited to final salary payment, retired pay, or lump sum leave, etc. as of the date of separation to the extent necessary to liquidate the debt.

(h) If the debt cannot be liquidated by offset from any final payment due a separated employee it may be recovered by the offset in accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3716 from any later payments due the former employee from the United States.

when directed by an administrative or judicial order;

(c) Upon receipt of monies returned in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section, the Commission will refund the amount to the current or former employee.

(d) Unless required by law, refunds under this subsection shall not bear interest nor shall liability be conferred to the Commission for debt or refunds owed by other creditor agencies.

§ 708.12 Statute of limitations.

If a debt has been outstanding for more than 10 years after the agency's right to collect the debt first accrued, the agency may not collect by salary offset unless facts material to the government's right to collect were not known and could not reasonably have been known by the official or officials who were charged with the responsibility for discovery and collection of such debts.

§708.13 Non-waiver of rights by payments.

An employee's involuntary payment of all or any part of a debt collected under these regulations will not be construed as a waiver of any rights that employee may have under 5 U.S.C. 5514 or any other provision of contract or law unless there are statutory or contractual provisions to the contrary.

§ 708.14 Interest, penalties, and administrative costs.

Charges may be assessed for interest, penalties, and administrative costs in accordance with the Federal Claims Collection Standards, 4 CFR 102.13.