Title 12

SECTION 1073.302

1073.302 Notice requirement where CFPB is creditor agency.

§ 1073.302 Notice requirement where CFPB is creditor agency.

Where the Bureau seeks salary offset under 5 U.S.C. 5514 as the creditor agency, the Director shall first provide the employee with a written Notice of Intent to Offset at least 30 calendar days before salary offset is to commence. The Notice of Intent to Offset shall include the following information and statements:

(a) That the Director has determined that a debt is owed to the Bureau, and the origin, nature, and amount of the debt;

(b) That the Director intends to collect the debt by means of deduction from the employee's current disposable pay account;

(c) The frequency and amount of the intended deduction, stated as a fixed dollar amount or as a percentage of disposable pay, not to exceed 15 percent of disposable pay;

(d) That the Director intends to continue the deductions until the debt is paid in full or otherwise resolved;

(e) The opportunity (under terms agreeable to the Director) to establish a schedule for the voluntary repayment of the debt or enter into a written agreement to establish a schedule for repayment of the debt in lieu of offset. The agreement must be in writing, signed by both the employee and the Director, and documented in the Bureau's files;

(f) The Bureau's policy concerning interest, penalties, and administrative costs, including a statement that such assessments must be made unless excused in accordance with the FCCS or these regulations;

(g) That the employee has the right to inspect and copy Bureau records not exempt from disclosure that relate to the debt or, if the employee or his or her representative cannot personally inspect the records, to request and receive a copy of such records;

(1) Such requests must be made in writing, and identify by name and address the designated individual to whom the request should be sent.

(2) Upon receipt of such a request, the designated official shall notify the employee of the time and location where the records may be inspected and copied;

(h) That the employee has a right to a hearing regarding the existence and amount of the debt claimed or the salary offset schedule proposed by the Director, provided that the employee files a request for such a hearing with the Bureau in accordance with § 1073.303. Such a hearing will be conducted by an impartial official who is an administrative law judge or who is an other hearing official not under the supervision or control of the Director;

(i) The procedure and deadline for requesting a hearing, including the name, address, and telephone number of the designated individual to whom a request for hearing must be sent;

(j) That a request for hearing must be received by the Bureau within 15 calendar days following receipt of the Notice of Intent, and that filing of a request for hearing will stay the commencement of collection proceedings;

(k) That the Director will initiate salary offset procedures not less than 30 days from the date of the employee's receipt of the Notice of Intent to Offset, unless the employee files a timely request for a hearing;

(l) That if a hearing is held, the administrative law judge or other hearing official will issue a decision on the hearing at the earliest practical date, but not later than 60 days after the filing of the request for the hearing, unless the employee requests and the hearing official grants a delay in the proceedings;

(m) That any knowingly false or frivolous statements, representations, or evidence may subject the employee to:

(1) Disciplinary procedures appropriate under 5 U.S.C. chapter 75, 5 CFR part 752, or any other applicable statutes or regulations;

(2) Penalties under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. 3729 through 3731, or under any other applicable statutory authority; or

(3) Criminal penalties under 18 U.S.C. 286, 287, 1001, and 1002 or under any other applicable statutory authority;

(n) That the employee also has the right to request waiver of overpayment pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 5584, and may exercise any other rights and remedies available under statutes or regulations governing the program for which the collection is being made; and

(o) That amounts paid on or deducted from the debt which are later waived or found not to be owed to the United States will be promptly refunded to the employee, unless there are applicable contractual or statutory provisions to the contrary.

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