s003803

Office of the General Counsel

Matter of: [xxx]
Date: January 24, 2000
File Number: S003803

OPM Contact: Jo-Ann Chabot

The claimant, an employee of the [agency], requests that we review the deductions that the [agency component] took from his leave account and overtime pay to offset an overpayment of over $1500 that he received. He also requests a waiver of his indebtedness resulting from the overpayment which occurred when he became employed with [agency] after retiring from employment with the [xxx]. He states that the overpayment resulted from [agency] error in calculating the amount of annual leave that he was entitled to accrue each pay period, and this error resulted from [agency] erroneous interpretation of the law.

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 the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to make or to review waiver determinations involving erroneous payments of pay or allowances. Accordingly, the Claims Adjudication Unit does not have jurisdiction to consider, or issue a decision on, the request for a waiver of the claimant's indebtedness to the United States. The claimant's request is dismissed.

This settlement is final. No further administrative review is available within the Office of Personnel Management. Nothing in this settlement limits the claimant's right to bring an action in an appropriate United States Court.