Washington, DC

U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Compensation Claim Decision
Under section 3702 of title 31, United States Code

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Robert D. Hendler
Classification and Pay Claims
Program Manager
Agency Compliance and Evaluation
Merit System Accountability and Compliance


12/16/2016

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Date

The claimant is a Federal civilian employee of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in Washington, DC.  She requests the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) provide a waiver of debt in the amount of $5,745.57.  OPM received the request on September 20, 2016.  For the reasons discussed herein, the claim is denied for lack of jurisdiction.

The claimant received a debt collection letter, dated March 2, 2015, from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Payroll Operations Division (POD).  The letter stated that DOI’s POD determined that, as a result of an error made during the on-boarding process, the claimant received a salary overpayment totaling a net amount of $5,745.57.   As instructed in the letter, the claimant then applied for a waiver of repayment with her employing agency, the EEOC.  The waiver was denied.  The claimant now attempts to appeal her waiver of overpayment request to OPM.  

As a result of legislative and executive action, the authority to waive overpayments of pay and allowances now resides with the heads of agencies, regardless of the amount.  See the General Accounting Office Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-316, 110 Stat. 3826, approved October 19, 1996; and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Determination Order dated December 17, 1996.  Neither Pub. L. No. 104-316 nor OMB’s Determination Order of December 17, 1996, authorizes OPM to make or to review waiver determinations involving erroneous payments of pay or allowances other than for its own employees as provided for in 5 U.S.C. § 5584.  Therefore, OPM does not have jurisdiction to consider, or issue a decision on, the request for a waiver of a claimant’s indebtedness to the United States, because the authority to waive the claimant’s indebtedness is vested in her employing agency, EEOC.

This settlement is final.  No further administrative review is available within OPM.  Nothing in this settlement limits the claimant's right to bring an action in an appropriate United States court.

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