Directive 491.2 

8/29/89 

 WAIVER OF CLAIMS FOR ERRONEOUS PAYMENTS TO EMPLOYEES 

 I. This Directive provides Agency policy and establishes 

 PURPOSE standards for the submission, review. and final 

 determination for the waiver of claims against an AMS 

 employee arising from an erroneous payment. 

 II. This Directive replaces AMS Instruction 491-2. Rev. 1, 

 REPLACEMENT dated 11/20/73. 

 HIGHLIGHTS 

 III. 5 U.S.C. 5584, as amended by Public Law 99-224, provides for 

 AUTHORITY the waiver of claims by the United States against an employee 

 for an erroneous payment. 

 IV. The AMS Administrator or his designee may review. decide. and 

 POLICY grant a waiver of overpayment when the collection would be 

 against equity and good conscience and not in the best interest 

 of the United States. The waiver action must be initiated 

 within 3 years immediately following the day the erroneous 

 payment was discovered. Repayment of erroneous payments may be 

 deferred until final waiver action is taken. 

 V. A. Waiver of Claim. The claim may be waived in whole or 

 WAIVER OF part 

 CLAIMS 

 1. The Comptroller General of the United States; or 

 2. The AMS Administrator or his designee when: 

 a. The total claim does not exceed $500; 

 b. The claim is not the subject of an exception made 

 by the Comptroller General; and 

 c. The waiver is made in accordance with standards 

 prescribed by the Comptroller General. 

 B. Request for Waiver Action. An employee who is 

 created with an erroneous payment and believes the 

 repayment should be waived may submit a request for waiver 

 to the servicing personnel office. However. the following 

 offices may initiate waiver action in the absence of a 

 request: (1) the Department, (2) the Comptroller General, 

 or (3) the servicing personnel office. 

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 C. Information to be Submitted. An employee submitting a 

 request for waiver of an erroneous payment should provide 

 as much of the information listed below as possible to the 

 servicing personnel office. The personnel office should 

 confirm the facts and prepare a Report of Investigation 

 which should include: 

 a. Employee's name, Social Security number, and home 

 address. 

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 b. A statement of the gross amount of the overpayment 

 identified by the amount of overpayment for each pay 

 period or voucher involved. 

 c. A statement of the circumstances under which the 

 erroneous payment was made. 

 d. A statement explaining when (the date) and how the 

 employee became aware of the erroneous payment. 

 e. A statement by the employee as to his/her 

 knowledge of the erroneous payment. 

 f. A statement by the personnel office as to whether 

 there is any 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. 

 g. When available, a copy of the payroll documents or 

 any other documents that will provide evidence of the 

 amount of the overpayment and bow it occurred. 

 h. If the erroneous payment was previously repaid, 

 and a refund is requested, include evidence to show that 

 the employee repaid the amount in question. 

 i. Any other information that would be helpful in 

 determining the appropriate action to be taken. 

 D. Waiver Request Limitations. Claims may not be waived 

 when the employee was aware of the overpayment at the time 

 of receipt. or when the employee failed to inform the 

 appropriate official of a significant unexplained increase 

 in pay, allowances, or travel reimbursement. 

 VI. A. Pay. Amount due to employees for services performed 

 DEFINITIONS in their official capacity. The amount includes. but is 

 not limited to, base pay, overtime, differential, holiday, 

 severance, pay for accumulated and accrued leave, and 

 payments made under the Performance Management and 

 Recognition System. 

 B. Allowance. Amounts include, but are not limited to, 

 payments for quarters, uniforms, and overseas cost of 

 living expenses. 

 C. Travel. Public Law 99-224 expanded the waiver 

 authority to include erroneous payments of travel, 

 transportation, and relocation expenses. This authority 

 only applies to overpayments made on or after 

 December 28, 1985, and is not retroactive. 

 D. Servicing Personnel Office. The office responsible 

 for processing personnel actions for the employee. Senior 

 Executive Service and Schedule C personnel are serviced by 

 the AMS personnel office in Washington. D.C. Personnel 

 actions for all other employees are handled by the APHIS 

 personnel office in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

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 VII. A. The AMS Administrator, or persons acting in that 

 DELEGATION OF capacity, may waive, in whole or part, claims of $500 or 

 AUTHORITY less, or may deny an application for waiver of claim in 

 any amount. 

 B. The Director, Financial Management Division (FMD), 

 has been delegated the authority by he AMS Administrator 

 to waive, in whole or part, claims of $500 or less. or to 

 deny an application for waiver of a claim in any amount. 

 VIII. A. Employees should; 

 RESPONSI- 

 BILITIES 1. Review all Personnel Actions and Earnings 

 Statements received. 

 2. Review all Travel Authorizations and Travel 

 Vouchers to ensure only autborized allowances are 

 claimed. 

 3. Request clarification from immediate supervisor 

 on any item that appears questionable. 

 4. Notify the servicing personnel office when an 

 unexplained change in pay or allowances occurs. Notify 

 the NFC travel section when an unexplained travel 

 payment is made. This notification may be channeled 

 through the administrative office or regional office. 

 5. Initiate a request for waiver of the overpayment 

 to the servicing personnel office if the conditions for 

 a waiver are present and repayment has been requested. 

 6. Apply to the FMD for refund of amounts repaid 

 when notified by MM or the Comptroller General that a 

 waiver is granted. (The application for refund must be 

 made within 2 years following the date of the waiver.) 

 B. The Servicing Personnel Office will: 

 1. Identify unexplained changes in pay or 

 allowances when requested by employees. 

 2. Notify employees, in writing, when they have 

 been credited with an erroneous pay-related item 

 payment. (When employees identify overpayments, written 

 notification to employees is not required.) 

 3. Prepare a Report of Investigation as described 

 in Part V, Section C. 

 4. Prepare a recommendation for waiver or denial of 

 claim. 

 5. Forward the Report of Investigation and any 

 other additional facts and documents that may be 

 pertinent to the case to the FMD for further action. 

 C. The Director, FMD will: 

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 1. Review the Report of Investigation. 

 2. Determine the disposition to be made of the 

 claim and reason for action to be taken. 

 3. Refer the report to the Comptroller General 

 when: 

 a. The claim amounts to more than $500, 

 b. The legal basis to approve the claim is 

 questionable; or 

 c. The claim was forwarded by the Agency or a 

 certifying officer to the Comptroller General for 

 collection or to the Attorney General for litigation. 

 4. Notify the employee or initiating office. in 

 writing. of the final action taken by FMD on a request for 

 waiver. (In those cases where the claim is for more than 

 $500 and the FMD Director denies the waiver, the employee 

 must be advised of the right to appeal the denial to the 

 Comptroller General.) 

 IX. A. FMD will maintain a register of waiver actions. The 

 REPORTING register will show the disposition of each claim 

 considered for waiver. The register and the written 

 report on each claim will be maintained and be available 

 for review by the General Accounting Office and other 

 authorized personnel. 

 B. FMD will furnish a consolidated report, through the 

 Department, to the Comptroller General within 60 days 

 after the close of each fiscal year. 

 L. P. Massaro 

 Deputy Administrator, Management 

 

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