Source: https://fiscal.treasury.gov/fsservices/gov/pmt/jdgFund/regulations.htm
Timestamp: 2018-01-18 21:16:47
Document Index: 479590589

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 256', 'art 256', '§ 2301', '§ 724', '§ 724', '§ 7101', '§ 3321', '§ 3325', '§ 3716', '§ 3716', 'art 285', 'art 285']

Judgment Fund Regulations
31 CFR Part 256: Final Rule
Federal Register, October 17, 2006
31 CFR Part 256, the Judgment Fund Regulation, governs how federal government agencies obtain payments from the Judgment Fund and how individuals obtain payments under private relief acts
Treasury Financial Manual (I TFM 6-3100)
The Treasury Financial Manual (TFM) is Treasury's official publication providing policies, procedures and instructions to federal agencies concerning collections, payments and governmentwide accounting and reporting of all receipts and payments of the federal government.
Web Page | PDF file
No FEAR Act Reimbursement Responsibilities
The No FEAR Act, 5 U.S.C. § 2301 requires agencies to reimburse the Judgment Fund for payments made on their behalf to employees, former employees, or applicants for federal employment arising out of claims of actual or alleged violations of Federal antidiscrimination laws, Federal whistleblower protection laws, and/or retaliation claims arising from the assertion of rights under those laws.
Fiscal Service makes a demand for reimbursement in writing to the debtor agency 15 business days after the No FEAR payment has been made.
Upon receipt of a reimbursement demand, an agency has 45 business days from the date of the demand letter to reimburse the Judgment Fund or contact the Judgment Fund Section to make written arrangements for reimbursement. An agency is considered noncompliant with the reimbursement provisions of the No FEAR Act if it fails to reimburse or make timely arrangements for reimbursement, as required by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) regulations at 5 CFR § 724.104.
Non-Compliant Agency Report
No Fear Non-Compliant Agency Report
As required by OPM regulations at 5 CFR § 724.105, Fiscal Service posts an annual report on its website listing those agencies that have failed to reimburse the Judgment Fund or to contact Fiscal Service within 45 days after receipt of a reimbursement demand related to No FEAR Act payments made on their behalf.
Contract Disputes Act Reimbursement Responsibilities
The payment of Contract Disputes Act (CDA) claims is governed by 41 U.S.C. § 7101 et.seq. Subsection (c) provides that CDA claims paid by the Judgment Fund shall be reimbursed by the agency whose appropriations were used for the contract in dispute.
Fiscal Service makes a demand for reimbursement in writing to the debtor agency 30 business days after the CDA payment has been made.
Upon receipt of a reimbursement demand, an agency has 45 business days from the date of the demand letter to reimburse the Judgment Fund or contact the Judgment Fund Section to make written arrangements for reimbursement. An agency is considered noncompliant with the reimbursement provisions of the CDA if it fails to reimburse or make timely arrangements for reimbursement within that time period. An agency that fails to respond to a CDA reimbursement demand will be identified as noncompliant in any reports on CDA reimbursements requested by Congress.
Federal agency balances of unreimbursed CDA amounts owed to Treasury are posted and updated quarterly on this site: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/tma/contractdisputes.htm
Offset of Payments from the Judgment Fund
Award – a money judgment against, or a monetary settlement by, the United States.
Judgment Debt – an amount owed to the United States by a Judgment Plaintiff that has been reduced to judgment.
Judgment Fund Section – the part of Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service) responsible for processing agency submissions requesting payments from the Judgment Fund.
Judgment Fund – the permanent, indefinite appropriation provided by Congress for the payment of certain awards.
Judgment Plaintiff – the person legally entitled to the payment of an award from the Judgment Fund.
To understand the distinction between the two statutes, it's helpful to know something about the payment process. In a nutshell, awards are ultimately paid by a disbursing official. 31 U.S.C. § 3321(a). To process an award for payment, the disbursing official must receive a certified voucher from a certifying official. 31 U.S.C. § 3325(a)(1). Fiscal Service's Judgment Fund Section is the certifying official for all payment vouchers that will result in a payment from the Judgment Fund. By certifying an award for payment from the Judgment Fund, the Judgment Fund Section is, among other things, confirming that there is no other source of funding for that award and that the payment is proper.
An agency requesting payment of an award from the Judgment Fund must identify on the appropriate form (currently Form 196, "Judgment Fund Award Data Sheet," line 6) any known Judgment Debts owed by the Judgment Plaintiff and any known IRS tax levy to which the Judgment Plaintiff is subject. As indicated on Form 196, the Judgment Debt or levy is deducted from the judgment or settlement amount and the Judgment Fund Section will certify the balance to the disbursing official for payment, provided the payment is otherwise proper.
Entirely separate and apart from setoff under section 3728, the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA) requires federal agencies to refer delinquent nontax debts to Fiscal Service for purposes of collection by offset of nontax payments pursuant to 31 U.S.C. § 3716. Administrative offset occurs at the disbursing official level, after a payment has been certified. 31 U.S.C. § 3716(c)(1)(A). (Because the two offsets occur at different stages in the payment process, it's possible for a single payment to be set off for one debt under section 3728 and administratively offset for a different debt under section 3716.)
Regulations implementing administrative offset by the disbursing official are at 31 C.F.R. Part 285. In particular, Part 285.5 addresses the centralized offset of federal payments to collect nontax debt owed to the United States. Federal payments subject to administrative offset by the disbursing official include payments from the Judgment Fund. 31 CFR 285.5(e)(1).
Fiscal Service conducts centralized administrative offset and other debt collection activities to reduce payments though its Treasury Offset Program (TOP). TOP compares the names and taxpayer identification numbers (TINs) on debts with the names and TINs on federal payment vouchers. If there is a match, the federal payment is offset to satisfy the overdue debt. 31 C.F.R. 285.5(c)(2). Section 285.5(e)(8) provides that '[p]ayment agencies shall prepare and submit payment vouchers in the manner prescribed by the disbursing official to ensure that all payments legally eligible for offset will be offset and all payments not eligible will not be offset."
• TIN for each person legally entitled to payment of funds from the Judgment Fund must be provided even if the actual or imminent lawsuit is a class action or other multiple plaintiff lawsuit, and even if a lump-sum payment will be made to a claims administrator or other entity that will issue individual payments to the persons entitled to the funds. In such a case, please contact the Judgment Fund Section prior to submitting a request for payment to ensure the proper process is established to handle the TINs.
 Even in the case of an award of attorney fees, the TIN that must be provided is the TIN for the plaintiff or claimant, as the plaintiff or claimant is generally the person legally entitled to the payment under the laws that provide for awards of attorney fees against the United States. It does not matter if the plaintiff or claimant has asked that the fees or costs be paid directly to his/her attorney.
• Even if the agency requesting payment from the Judgment Fund has done its own due diligence to ascertain if a payment made by that agency should be offset, that fact has no effect on the Judgment Fund Section's responsibility to submit properly completed certified payment vouchers to the disbursing official. For the Judgment Fund Section to be able to submit proper vouchers, it must have the TIN(s) of the person(s) legally entitled to the payment and will reject any submission that does not include this information.