Pennsylvania Code › Title 22 - EDUCATION › Part VIII - Higher Education Assistance Agency › Chapter 121 - STUDENT FINANCIAL AID › Subchapter A - GENERAL PROVISIONS › MISCELLANEOUS › Section 121.10 - Administrative wage garnishment procedures for Federal loans

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a) This section implements and incorporates
					 by reference the Federal administrative wage garnishment process authorized
					 under section 488A of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.A. §
												1095a) and
					 34 CFR
					 682.410(b)(10) (relating to
					 fiscal, administrative, and enforcement requirements).
(b) Loan collection procedure for those loans
					 which are held by the Agency and which qualify as loans under the Federal
					 Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) are as follows:
(1) If the Agency decides to garnish the
					 disposable pay of a borrower who is not making payments on a loan held by the
					 Agency, on which the United States Secretary of Education (Secretary) has paid
					 a reinsurance claim, it shall do so in accordance with the procedures in
					 section 488A of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
(2) Unless the Agency receives information
					 that justifies a delay or cancellation of the order of withholding, it will
					 send an order of withholding to the employer within 20 days after the borrower
					 fails to request a hearing within 20 days of the date of mailing of the notice,
					 or if a timely request for a hearing is made by the borrower, within 20 days
					 after a final decision is made by the Agency to proceed with
					 garnishment.
(3) The Agency will
					 provide a hearing if the borrower submits a written request for a hearing on
					 the existence or amount of the debt or the terms of the repayment schedule. The
					 borrower may request an oral hearing or a written hearing. The time and
					 location of the hearing will be established by the Agency. An oral hearing may,
					 at the borrower's option, be conducted either in-person or by telephone
					 conference. Telephonic charges are the responsibility of the Agency.
(4) If the borrower's written request is
					 received by the Agency on or before the 15th day following the borrower's
					 receipt of the notice the Agency may not issue an order of withholding until
					 the borrower has been provided the requested hearing. For purposes of this
					 subsection, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, a borrower will be
					 considered to have received the notice 5 days after it was mailed by the
					 Agency. The Agency will provide a hearing to the borrower in sufficient time to
					 permit a decision to be rendered within 60 days from the day of receipt of the
					 borrower's hearing request.
(5) The
					 hearing examiner appointed by the Agency to conduct the hearing may be any
					 qualified individual not under the supervision or control of the President and
					 Chief Executive Officer of the Agency and have the power and duty to:
(i) Administer oaths.
(ii) Question witnesses presented by the
					 Agency or by the borrower.
(iii)
					 Hear evidence submitted, review the documents presented, consider arguments and
					 prepare a report.
(iv) Recommend in
					 the report a proposed adjudication and order, supported by findings of fact and
					 conclusions of law.
(v) Provide
					 copies of the report to the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Agency
					 and to the borrower or the borrower's attorney of record at the earliest
					 practicable date, but not later than 60 days after the Agency's receipt of the
					 borrower's hearing request.
(6) The proceedings of a hearing will be
					 conducted in the following order:
(i) The
					 hearing examiner will state the purpose of the hearing, the procedure to be
					 followed, and the manner in which the report will be transmitted to the
					 parties.
(ii) The borrower or the
					 borrower's attorney will present the borrower's case.
(iii) The Agency may cross-examine each
					 witness presented by the borrower.
(iv) The Agency will present its
					 case.
(v) The borrower or the
					 borrower's attorney may cross-examine each witness presented by the
					 Agency.
(vi) The hearing examiner
					 may question any witness at any time.
(7) The borrower and the President and Chief
					 Executive Officer of the Agency will each have the right to file exceptions to
					 the hearing examiner's report within 15 days after the service of a copy of the
					 report. Failure to file exceptions within the time allowed shall constitute a
					 waiver of all objections to the report.
(8) The period of time may, for good cause,
					 be extended upon motion made before the expiration of the 15-day time period
					 and filed with the hearing examiner.
(9) The period of time may be extended upon
					 motion made after the expiration of the 15-day time period where reasonable
					 grounds are shown for failure to act. The motion shall be filed with the
					 hearing examiner.
(10) Requests for
					 the extension to time in which to file briefs shall be filed with the hearing
					 examiner at least 5 days before the time fixed for filing the briefs.
(11) Upon consideration of the record, the
					 hearing examiner's report, and any exceptions and briefs filed by the borrower
					 and the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, the Board will
					 enter a final order.
(12) When the
					 Board receives notice of an appeal, it will place the appeal on the meeting
					 agenda of the Board after the Board has reviewed a stenographic record of the
					 hearing before the hearing examiner. The Board may delegate to the review
					 committee, comprised of three or more Board members designated by the
					 Chairperson of the Board, the responsibility to review the record and hearing
					 examiner's report to the Board and to make a recommendation for action by the
					 Board. The review committee will provide an opportunity for the borrower and
					 the Agency to present oral argument, when requested by either party, before
					 rendering a recommendation for action by the Board. Oral argument may be
					 conducted either in-person or by telephone conference. Telephonic charges are
					 the responsibility of the Agency. The Board will make a final order that is
					 just and proper.
(13) Notice of the
					 entry of a final order by the Board will be mailed promptly to the borrower at
					 the borrower's last known post office address.