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B-260909 1 (1996-12-17)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptadqf0001 and id is 1 raw text is: oComptroller General of the United States Washington, D.C. 20548 Decision Matter of: Alfred H. Varga File: B-260909 Date: December 17, 1996 DIGEST 1. The total amount of the debt due the United States on an erroneous salary payment is the gross amount, which includes both the amount the employee receives directly and other amounts disbursed on his behalf for such items as Medicare, health benefits, thrift savings plan, retirement, and federal and state tax withholdings. Nevertheless, the determination of the administrative law judge (Aid) under 5 U.S.C. § 5514 rejecting salary offset as a means of collection for duplicate deductions other than Medicare, federal taxes, and state taxes from the employee precludes the agency from using salary offset to collect these particular deductions. As the ALJ found, the agency has admitted that it can collect these amounts by adjusting its accounts with the parties who received the erroneous withholdings. The agency is advised to promptly take that action. 2. The waiver statute, at 5 U.S.C. § 5584(a)(2)(A) (1994), limits the waiver authority of an agency head to claims in an amount aggregating not more than $1,500. The term aggregate amount is defined in 4 C.F.R. § 91.2(j) (1996) to mean the gross amount of the claim against the employee . . . Thus, the administrative law judge, acting for the agency head, erred in waiving $500 of the employee's debt since the aggregate amount of the debt totals more than $1,500. DECISION This decision is in response to an appeal from our Settlement Certificate Z-2927984-056, February 24, 1995, which denied the employee's request for waiver in the gross amount of his debt of $3,548 for the overpayment of compensation for the pay period ending July 10, 1993. We sustain our settlement action, except that the duplicate deductions for retirement, health insurance, and thrift savings plan may not be collected by the agency by salary offset. The agency is advised to collect those deductions totalling $445.31 by adjusting its accounts with the parties that received the erroneous withholdings. 12401217

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