Directive 332.1 

4/26/93 

 RESIGNATIONS 

I. This Directive sets forth: 

PURPOSE 

 A. Procedures required to initiate and complete a resignation. 

 B. Information to be given to an employee at the time of resignation. 

II. This Directive replaces AMS Directive 332.1, dated 

REPLACEMENT 9/6/89. Changes are marked with asterisks. 

HIGHLIGHTS 

III. A. A resignation is a separation in response to 

DEFINITIONS an employee's request for the action. It is a voluntary expression, 

 either written or oral, of the employee's desire to leave the Federal 

 Service, and must not be demanded as an alternative to some other 

 action to be taken or withheld. An employee may, however, 

 voluntarily elect to resign rather than face disciplinary action. 

 B. * - An Accountable Officer is a management official 

 (Officer-in-Charge of a field or regional office, or a Division 

 Administrative Officer in headquarters offices) designated to 

 coordinate the budgeting, acquisition, receipt, issuance, storage, 

 reporting, and inventory of all property within his/her accountable 

 area. 

 C. A servicing personnel office is one of the organizational 

 units described below: 

 1. Employment Policy Branch (EPB), Personnel Division (PED), 

 AMS, is responsible for approving personnel actions for all 

 Schedule C, Senior Executive Service (SES), and GS/GM-13, 14, 

 and 15 positions nationwide. EPB is also responsible for 

 processing all personnel actions and related documents for 

 Schedule C and SES positions through the National Finance 

 Center (NFC) Automated Payroll/Personnel Processing System. 

 2. Human Resource Operations, Human Resources Division, 

 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Minneapolis, 

 Minnesota, is responsible for approving and processing all 

 personnel actions and related documents for positions GS-12 

 and below. - * 

IV. A. Written. 

FORMS OF 

RESIGNATION 1. An employee who desires to resign or has resigned 

 shall be asked to complete Part E of Form SF-52, 

 Request for Personnel Action. 

 2. Circumstances may prohibit the resigning employee 

 from completing Part E of SF-52. In these situations, 

 the employee should provide the following information 

 as a separate written statement that shall be attached 

 to the SF-52: 

 a. The effective date of the resignation; 

 b. A statement of the reason(s) for resignation; 

 c. The employee's forwarding address; and 

 d. The employee's signature and date signed. 

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 3. Failure to either complete Part E of SF-52 or to provide 

 the above information may result in the employee not 

 receiving, or having unnecessary delays receiving: 

 (1) copies of pertinent separation documents, 

 (2) pay or other compensation due, and 

 (3) information regarding unemployment compensation benefits. 

 B. Oral. When the employee cannot or will not submit a 

 written resignation, an oral resignation must be accepted, 

 preferably in the presence of one or more witnesses. The 

 official who receives an oral resignation shall sign and 

 date a statement to that effect and attach it to the SF-52. 

 The information recorded shall include the following: 

 1. The effective date of the resignation and the reason given; 

 2. Forwarding address, if provided; and 

 3. The names of any witnesses, together with their statements. 

V. An employee is free to resign at any time. The 

EFFECTIVE effective date of a resignation will be the last 

DATE OF date on which the employee is considered to be an 

RESIGNATION employee of the Agency. When the employee sets an 

 effective date of resignation, the Agency cannot 

 arbitrarily set an earlier or later date and have the 

 action remain voluntary. 

 

VI. The SF-52 shall be prepared and submitted in 

COMPLETION accordance with AMS Directive 333.1, Requests for 

AND Personnel Actions. 

SUBMISSION 

OF SF-52 A. The employee's supervisor shall complete Part D of the 

 SF-52 if the employee gives an oral resignation, * - or if there 

 is different information relative to the reason(s) for the 

 employee's resignation than was stated in Part E of the 

 SF-52. - * Whether a resignation is written or oral, the 

 employee's reason for resigning should be obtained whenever 

 possible. The reason for resigning is important in determining 

 the employee's entitlement to unemployment compensation. If 

 an employee resigns without stating a reason, the supervisor 

 shall enter the statement "Employee failed to give reason for 

 resignation" in Part D of the SF-52. 

 B. The supervisor shall submit the SF-52, in accordance with 

 Division procedures, to the servicing personnel office as soon 

 as possible after the resignation is received. Delays in 

 submitting the SF-52 may adversely affect the employee's receipt 

 of final salary and lump-sum payments. 

 C. Supervisors must immediately notify (by telephone/electronic mail) 

 their Division-appointed unemployment compensation contact point 

 (usually the administrative office) of any separation actions. 

 Failure to inform the contact point of such actions can result in 

 delayed or improper payment of unemployment compensation benefits 

 to a former employee. 

VII. A. Prior to Effective Date. 

CHANGE OR 

WITHDRAWAL OF 1. The employee may change the effective 

RESIGNATION date or withdraw the resignation prior to the effective date. 

 Refusal by the supervisor to permit a change or withdrawal 

 must be supported by a valid reason, and presented in 

 writing to the employee. Valid reasons include, but are not 

 limited to, administrative disruption or the hiring of or commitment 

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 to hire a replacement. Copies of the written explanation must be 

 submitted to the servicing personnel office and the Employee 

 Relations Branch (ERB), PED. 

 2. Supervisors must contact their assigned Employee Relations 

 Specialist prior to refusing to permit a change or withdrawal 

 of resignation. 

 B. After Effective Date. An employee may not change the 

 effective date or withdraw a resignation after the effective date. 

VIII. A. If the resigning employee cannot provide the 

INDEBTEDNESS Accountable Officer with an accounting of items 

 * - (see Attachment 1) on which a monetary value is placed, 

 including advanced leave, the Officer shall contact the Fiscal 

 Operations and Systems Branch, Financial Management 

 Division, AMS. - * 

 B. * - Employees committed to service agreements will be indebted 

 to the Agency, should they resign prior to the expiration of the 

 agreement, unless separated for reasons beyond their control that 

 are acceptable to the Agency. 

 C. Any amount owed (service agreements, advanced leave, etc.) 

 shall be recovered from the employee under the Agency's debt 

 collection regulations. - * 

IX. The resigning employee's immediate supervisor or 

INFORMATION Administrative Officer shall provide him/her with 

TO BE GIVEN the following: 

TO RESIGNING 

EMPLOYEES A. Unemployment Compensation. A copy of Form SF-8, Notice to 

 Federal Employee About Unemployment Insurance. * - Form SF-8 

 provides the following information: rights to unemployment 

 compensation, where to file a claim, and what documentation is 

 necessary. The SF-8 should be provided to the separating employee 

 on or before the last day of active duty, if possible. - * 

 B. Annual Leave and/or Compensatory Time. For information on 

 lump-sum payments for annual leave or compensatory time upon 

 resignation, see AMS Directive 305.2, Leave, * - or AMS Directive 

 350.1, Premium Pay, respectively. - * Form AD-581, Lump-Sum Leave 

 or Compensatory Time Payments, must be completed by the Division or 

 Regional Administrative Officer for a lump-sum payment. 

 C. Recredit of Sick Leave. Any sick leave accrued as of the 

 effective date of an employee's resignation will be recredited 

 only if the employee is reappointed within 3 years following the 

 effective date of the resignation to a position in the Federal 

 Service which is subject to the Leave Act of 1951. 

 D. Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) -Withdrawal of 

 Deductions (applies to employees under CSRS only). 

 1. * - A refund of CSRS deductions may be paid if 

 the employee: (1) will be separated from the Federal 

 Service for at least 31 consecutive days, or is employed 

 in a position not subject to retirement deductions; and 

 (2) is not eligible to receive an annuity within 31 days 

 after filing an application; and (3) is not prohibited by 

 a qualifying court order from receiving a refund. 

 2. To apply for a CSRS refund, the employee must submit 

 Form SF-2802, Application for Refund of Retirement 

 Deductions-Civil Service Retirement System, and, if applicable, 

 Form SF-2802B, Current/Former Spouse Notification of 

 Application for Refund of Retirement Deductions. Form(s) 

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 submitted within 30 days of the date of separation should 

 be sent to the appropriate Division's regional or 

 administrative office in accordance with Division 

 procedures. That office will forward the form(s) to NFC 

 for forwarding to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) 

 for payment. Form(s) submitted more than 30 days after the 

 separation date should be sent directly to: - * 

 Office of Personnel Management 

 Retirement and Insurance Programs 

 Employee Service and Records Center 

 P.O. Box 45 

 Boyers, PA 16020 

 3. * - An employee who leaves the Federal Service with at 

 least 5 years of civilian service and who does not withdraw 

 his/her CSRS deductions retains eligibility for a deferred 

 retirement annuity beginning at age 62. If the retirement 

 contributions are withdrawn, rights to a deferred annuity are 

 forfeited; - * however, upon returning to the Federal Service, 

 an employee may be eligible to redeposit the money, plus 

 interest, in order to receive credit toward future retirement 

 benefits. 

 E. Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) Withdrawal 

 of Deductions (applies to employees under FERS only). 

 1. * - A refund of FERS deductions (not Social 

 Security contributions) may be paid if the employee: 

 (1) will be separated from the Federal Service for at 

 least 31 consecutive days, or is employed in a position 

 not subject to retirement deductions; and 

 (2) is not eligible for an annuity within 31 days 

 after filing the application; and 

 (3) is not prohibited by a qualifying court order from receiving 

 a refund. NOTE: A refund of FERS contributions 

 PERMANENTLY voids any retirement rights based on the 

 period(s) of service the refund covers. A redeposit 

 CANNOT be made to reestablish credit for refunded 

 FERS contributions. - * 

 2. To apply for a FERS refund, the employee must submit 

 Form SF-3106, Application for Refund of Retirement 

 Deductions-Federal Employees' Retirement System, and, 

 if applicable, Form SF-3106A, Current/Former Spouse's 

 Notification of Application for Refund of Retirement 

 Deductions Under FERS. Form(s) submitted within 30 

 days of the date of separation should be sent to the 

 appropriate Division's regional or administrative office in 

 accordance with Division procedures. That office will send 

 the form(s) to NFC for forwarding to OPM for payment. Form(s) 

 submitted more than 30 days after separation should be sent 

 directly to: 

 Office of Personnel Management 

 Federal Employees' Retirement System 

 Employee Service and Records Center 

 P.O. Box 200 

 Boyers, PA 16020 

 * - NOTE: SINCE ACCEPTANCE OF A REFUND OF CONTRIBUTIONS FROM 

 EITHER CSRS OR FERS MIGHT AFFECT SPOUSAL BENEFITS, ALL FORMER 

 AND CURRENT SPOUSES MUST BE NOTIFIED OF THE APPLICATION FOR A 

 REFUND. - * 

 F. Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Deductions. The servicing 

 personnel office will give every FERS employee and participating 

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 CSRS employee a Thrift Savings Plan Withdrawal Information 

 employee package upon separation from the Government. This package 

 includes applicable forms and a booklet, "Withdrawing 

 Your TSP Account Balance," which explains the options 

 available to a separating employee concerning his/her 

 TSP account. 

 G. Health and Life Insurance Coverage. 

 1. Health insurance coverage is terminated at the end of 

 the pay period in which an employee resigns. Coverage will 

 be extended for an additional 31 days (at no cost to the 

 employee), during which time he/she may convert the insurance, 

 without evidence of insurability, to a non-group contract 

 offered by the plan carrier; * - or, the employee may elect 

 to temporarily continue health insurance coverage for up to 

 18 months after separation under any plan in the Federal 

 Employees' Health Benefits (FEHB) Program, if otherwise eligible 

 to enroll in that plan. The servicing personnel office will 

 give the employee a health insurance benefits information package 

 that fully explains continuing FEHB coverage and application 

 procedures. - * 

 2. Life insurance coverage will be terminated on the date 

 the employee resigns. The employee will have 31 days of 

 extended free coverage effective the day after the life 

 insurance terminates. It may be converted to an individual 

 policy by following the instructions on Form SF-2819, Notice 

 of Conversion Privilege-Federal Employees' Group Life 

 Insurance Program. 

 (a) The SF-2819 will be given to the separating employee 

 by the appropriate servicing personnel office. 

 (b) * - Employees may obtain detailed information 

 concerning their right to apply for an individual policy 

 by contacting: 

 Office of Federal Employees' Group Life 

 Insurance 

 4 East 24th Street 

 New York, NY 10010 - * 

 L. P. Massaro 

 Deputy Administrator, Management 

 Attachment 

Disposition of Accountable Items Upon Resignation 

Employees Separated (Leaving Federal Service) Shall: 

1 Return Identification Card issued by duty station 

2 Return all accountable property issued by duty station (capitalized or noncapitalized)

3 Return any: 

 Building Passes 

 Parking Permits 

 Credit Cards 

 Government-issued Operator's Permits 

 Transportation Requests 

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4 Liquidate any advance of funds 

5 Liquidate any indebtedness to the Federal Government. 

 NOTE: For information on accountability for advanced leave, see AMS Directive 

 305.2, Leave. 

 

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