5 USC 5583 - Payment of money due; settlement of accounts

Collapse to view only § 5583. Payment of money due; settlement of accounts

§ 5581. Definitions
§ 5582. Designation of beneficiary; order of precedence
§ 5583. Payment of money due; settlement of accounts
§ 5584. Claims for overpayment of pay and allowances, and of travel, transportation and relocation expenses and allowances

§ 5581. DefinitionsFor the purpose of this subchapter—

(1) “employee” means—

(A) an employee as defined by section 2105 of this title; and

(B) an individual employed by the government of the District of Columbia;

but does not include an employee of—

(i) a Federal land bank;

(ii) a Federal intermediate credit bank;

(iii) a regional bank for cooperatives; or

(iv) the Senate within the purview of section 36a of title 2; 1

1 See References in Text note below.

and

(2) “money due” means the pay and allowances due on account of the services of a deceased employee for the Government of the United States or the government of the District of Columbia. It includes, but is not limited to—

(A) per diem instead of subsistence, mileage, and amounts due in reimbursement of travel expenses, including incidental and miscellaneous expenses in connection therewith for which reimbursement is due;

(B) allowances on change of official station;

(D) amounts due for payment of cash awards for employees’ suggestions;

(E) amounts due as refund of pay deductions for United States savings bonds;

(F) payment for accumulated and current accrued annual or vacation leave equal to the pay the deceased employee would have received had he lived and remained in the service until the end of the period of annual or vacation leave;

(G) amounts of checks drawn for pay and allowances which were not delivered by the Government to the employee during his lifetime;

(H) amounts of unnegotiated checks returned to the Government because of the death of the employee; and

(I) retroactive pay under section 5344(a) (2) of this title.

It does not include benefits, refunds, or interest payable under subchapter III of chapter 83 of this title applicable to the service of the deceased employee, or amounts the disposition of which is otherwise expressly prescribed by Federal statute.

(Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 495; Pub. L. 96–54, § 2(a)(34), Aug. 14, 1979, 93 Stat. 383.)

§ 5582. Designation of beneficiary; order of precedence

(a) The employing agency shall notify each employee of his right to designate a beneficiary or beneficiaries to receive money due, and of the disposition of money due if a beneficiary is not designated. An employee may change or revoke a designation at any time under regulations promulgated—

(1) by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management or his designee, in the case of an employee of an executive agency;

(2) jointly by the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or their designee, in the case of an employee of the legislative branch; and

(3) by the Chief Justice of the United States or his or her designee, in the case of an employee of the judicial branch.

(b) In order to facilitate the settlement of the accounts of deceased employees, money due an employee at the time of his death shall be paid to the person or persons surviving at the date of death, in the following order of precedence, and the payment bars recovery by another person of amounts so paid:

First, to the beneficiary or beneficiaries designated by the employee in a writing received in the employing agency before his death.

Second, if there is no designated beneficiary, to the widow or widower of the employee.

Third, if none of the above, to the child or children of the employee and descendants of deceased children by representation.

Fourth, if none of the above, to the parents of the employee or the survivor of them.

Fifth, if none of the above, to the duly appointed legal representative of the estate of the employee.

Sixth, if none of the above, to the person or persons entitled under the laws of the domicile of the employee at the time of his death.

(Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 495; Pub. L. 104–316, title I, § 103(c), Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3828.)

§ 5583. Payment of money due; settlement of accounts

(a) Under such regulations as the Director of the Office of Personnel Management may prescribe, the employing agency shall pay money due a deceased employee to the beneficiary designated by the employee under section 5582(b) of this title, or, if none, to the widow or widower of the employee.

(b) The Director may by regulation prescribe the method for settlement of accounts payable under subsection (a) of this section. However—

(1) accounts of employees of the government of the District of Columbia shall be paid by the District of Columbia; and

(2) accounts of employees of Government corporations or mixed ownership Government corporations may be paid by the corporations.

(Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 496; Pub. L. 96–70, title III, § 3302(e)(7), Sept. 27, 1979, 93 Stat. 498; Pub. L. 104–316, title II, § 202(b), Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3842.)

§ 5584. Claims for overpayment of pay and allowances, and of travel, transportation and relocation expenses and allowances

(a) A claim of the United States against a person arising out of an erroneous payment of pay or allowances made on or after July 1, 1960, or arising out of an erroneous payment of travel, transportation or relocation expenses and allowances, to an employee of an agency, the collection of which would be against equity and good conscience and not in the best interests of the United States, may be waived in whole or in part by—

(1) the authorized official;

(2) the head of the agency when—

(A) the claim is in an amount aggregating not more than $1,500; and

(B) the waiver is made in accordance with standards which the authorized official shall prescribe; or

(3) the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts when the claim is in an amount aggregating not more than $10,000 and involves an officer or employee of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, or any of the courts set forth in section 610 of title 28.

(b) The authorized official or the head of the agency, as the case may be, may not exercise his authority under this section to waive any claim—

(1) if, in his opinion, there exists, in connection with the claim, an indication of fraud, misrepresentation, fault, or lack of good faith on the part of the employee or any other person having an interest in obtaining a waiver of the claim;

(2) except in the case of employees of the Government Publishing Office, the Library of Congress, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, or the Botanic Garden, if application for waiver is received in his office, after the expiration of three years immediately following the date on which the erroneous payment of pay was discovered or three years immediately following October 21, 1968, whichever is later;

(3) except in the case of employees of the Government Publishing Office, the Library of Congress, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, or the Botanic Garden, if application for waiver is received in his office after the expiration of three years immediately following the date on which the erroneous payment of allowances was discovered or three years immediately following October 2, 1972, whichever is later;

(4) in the case of employees of the Government Publishing Office, the Library of Congress, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, or the Botanic Garden, if application for waiver is received in his office after the expiration of 3 years immediately following the date on which the erroneous payment of pay or allowances was discovered or 3 years immediately following July 25, 1974, whichever is later; or

(5) in the case of a claim involving an erroneous payment of travel, transportation or relocation expenses and allowances, if application for waiver is received in his office after the expiration of 3 years immediately following the date on which the erroneous payment was discovered.

(c) A person who has repaid to the United States all or part of the amount of a claim, with respect to which a waiver is granted under this section, is entitled, to the extent of the waiver, to refund, by the employing agency at the time of the erroneous payment, of the amount repaid to the United States, if he applies to that employing agency for that refund within two years following the effective date of the waiver. The employing agency shall pay that refund in accordance with this section.

(d) In the audit and settlement of the accounts of any accountable official, full credit shall be given for any amounts with respect to which collection by the United States is waived under this section.

(e) An erroneous payment, the collection of which is waived under this section, is deemed a valid payment for all purposes.

(f) This section does not affect any authority under any other statute to litigate, settle, compromise, or waive any claim of the United States.

(g) For the purpose of this section, “agency” means—

(1) an Executive agency;

(2) the Government Publishing Office;

(3) the Library of Congress;

(4) the Office of the Architect of the Capitol;

(5) the Botanic Garden;

(6) the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, and any of the courts set forth in section 610 of title 28; and

(7) the Congressional Budget Office.

For purposes of this section, the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall be the head of the agency in the case of those entities set forth in paragraph (6) of this subsection.

(g)1

1 So in original. Probably should be “(h)”.

For the purpose of this section, the term “authorized official” means—

(1) the head of an agency, with respect to an agency or employee in the legislative branch; or

(2) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, with respect to any other agency or employee.

(Added Pub. L. 90–616, § 1(a), Oct. 21, 1968, 82 Stat. 1212; amended Pub. L. 92–453, § 3(1), Oct. 2, 1972, 86 Stat. 760; Pub. L. 93–359, § 1, July 25, 1974, 88 Stat. 393; Pub. L. 96–54, § 2(a)(35), Aug. 14, 1979, 93 Stat. 383; Pub. L. 99–224, § 1(a), Dec. 28, 1985, 99 Stat. 1741; Pub. L. 100–702, title X, § 1009(a), Nov. 19, 1988, 102 Stat. 4667; Pub. L. 102–190, div. A, title VI, § 657(a), Dec. 5, 1991, 105 Stat. 1393; Pub. L. 104–316, title I, § 103(d), Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3828; Pub. L. 109–55, title I, § 1100(a), Aug. 2, 2005, 119 Stat. 577; Pub. L. 113–235, div. H, title I, § 1301(b), Dec. 16, 2014, 128 Stat. 2537.)