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[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 144 (Monday, July 28, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 40401]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-19781]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

[Treasury Order Number 101-21]

Delegation of Authority To Approve Death Gratuity Payment

Dated: July 17, 1997.
    1. By virtue of the authority vested in the Secretary of the 
Treasury by 31 U.S.C. 321(b), I hereby delegate the authority of the 
Secretary under Section 651 of the Treasury, Postal Service, and 
General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1997, as enacted 
in the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1997 
(Pub. L. 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009-368-69) to the heads of bureaus and 
the Inspector General to exercise any right or power, make any finding 
or determination, or perform any duty or obligation which the Secretary 
of the Treasury is authorized to exercise, make or perform under 
Section 651 related to such death gratuity payment.
    2. For purposes of this delegation, the Deputy Assistant Secretary 
(Administration) shall serve as the head of the bureau for the 
Departmental Offices.
    3. The death gratuity shall be in addition to other amounts paid 
and offset only by statutorily mandated amounts paid by the Department 
of Labor under 5 U.S.C. 8133(f), 5 U.S.C. 8134(a), and, if appropriate, 
any amount paid under Section 312, Pub. L. 103-332. The amount paid 
under the above authorities, plus the death gratuity payment, may not 
total more than $10,000. Before paying a death gratuity, the Department 
of Labor must be contacted to ascertain the amount of the offset.
    4. Each death gratuity payment recommendation must be submitted to 
the bureau chief counsel for review, and must be approved by the head 
of the bureau, or the Inspector General. Complete and final authority 
to authorize the payment of a death gratuity, and to determine, in any 
particular case, who is the decedent's personal representative rests 
with the bureau head and the Inspector General for their respective 
organizations. These officials may be guided with respect to the 
determination of the decedent's personal representative by: (a) formal 
designations of executors and administrators made by the decedent, or 
by operation of State law; (b) orders of precedence governing the 
payment of a Federal employee's unpaid compensation, as set forth in 
Title 5; (c) advice and guidance from the Department of Labor; and (d) 
by any other factor(s) considered to be relevant.
    5. The bureau head and Inspector General shall authorize death 
gratuity payments when presented with clear and convincing evidence 
that an employee, in the performance of duty, sustained an injury on or 
after August 2, 1990, which resulted in the employee's death. This 
includes employees who die after separation from service if the death 
is the result of an injury sustained in the line of duty. It does not 
include employees whose death is determined to have resulted from 
willful misconduct. Claims for payment which, by available evidence, do 
not clearly and convincingly establish entitlement to a death gratuity 
payment shall await a Department of Labor determination and the 
concurrence of the bureau head and Inspector General in the Department 
of Labor finding.
    6. The authority delegated herein may not be redelegated.
Robert E. Rubin,
Secretary of the Treasury.
[FR Doc. 97-19781 Filed 7-25-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-25-P
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