Regulations last checked for updates: Nov 25, 2024

Title 20 - Employees' Benefits last revised: Sep 30, 2024
§ 361.3 - Definitions.

For purposes of this part, terms are defined as follows:

Agency means—

(a) An executive agency as defined by section 105 of title 5, United States Code; including the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Postal Rate Commission;

(b) A military department as defined in section 102 of title 5, United States Code;

(c) An agency or court in the judicial branch, including a court as defined in section 610 of title 28, United States Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation;

(d) An agency of the legislative branch, including the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives; and

(e) Other independent establishments that are entities of the Federal government.

Creditor agency means the agency to which the debt is owed.

Debt means an amount owed to the United States from sources which include loans insured or guaranteed by the United States and all other amounts due the United States from fees, leases, rents, royalties, services, sales of real or personal property, overpayments, fines, penalties, damages, interest, forfeitures (except those arising under the Uniform Code of Military Justice), and all other similar sources.

Delinquent debt means a debt which has not been paid by the date specified in the creditor agency's initial written notification, unless satisfactory arrangements for payment have been made by that date, or where, at any time thereafter, the employee fails to satisfy his or her obligations under a payment agreement with the creditor agency.

Disposable pay means that part of current basic pay, special pay, incentive pay, retired pay, retainer pay, or in the case of an employee not entitled to basic pay, other authorized pay, remaining after the deduction of any amount required by law to be withheld. Agencies must exclude deductions described in 5 CFR 581.104 (b) through (f) to determine disposable pay subject to salary offset.

Employee means a current employee of a Federal agency, including a current member of the Armed Forces or a Reserve of the Armed Forces (Reserves).

FCCS means the Federal Claims Collection Standards jointly published by the Department of Justice and the U.S. General Accounting Office at 4 CFR 101.1, et seq.

Paying agency means the Federal agency or branch of the Armed Forces or Reserves employing the individual and disbursing his or her current pay account.

Salary offset means an administrative offset to collect a debt under 5 U.S.C. 5514 by deduction(s) at one or more officially established pay intervals from the current pay account of an employee without his or her consent.

Waiver means the cancellation, remission, forgiveness, or non-recovery of a debt allegedly owed by an employee to an agency as permitted or required by 5 U.S.C. 5584,5.S.C. 8346(b), 10 U.S.C. 2774,32.S.C. 716, or any other similar law.

authority: 5 U.S.C. 5514(b)(1)
source: 53 FR 45262, Nov. 9, 1988, unless otherwise noted.
cite as: 20 CFR 361.3