§ 5582. Designation of beneficiary; order of precedence

(a) The employing agency shall notify each employee of his right to designate a beneficiary or beneficiaries to receive money due, and of the disposition of money due if a beneficiary is not designated. An employee may change or revoke a designation at any time under regulations promulgated

(1) by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management or his designee, in the case of an employee of an executive agency;

(2) jointly by the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or their designee, in the case of an employee of the legislative branch; and

(3) by the Chief Justice of the United States or his or her designee, in the case of an employee of the judicial branch.

(b) In order to facilitate the settlement of the accounts of deceased employees, money due an employee at the time of his death shall be paid to the person or persons surviving at the date of death, in the following order of precedence, and the payment bars recovery by another person of amounts so paid:

First, to the beneficiary or beneficiaries designated by the employee in a writing received in the employing agency before his death.

Second, if there is no designated beneficiary, to the widow or widower of the employee.

Third, if none of the above, to the child or children of the employee and descendants of deceased children by representa

tion.

Fourth, if none of the above, to the parents of the employee or the survivor of them.

Fifth, if none of the above, to the duly appointed legal representative of the estate of the employee.

Sixth, if none of the above, to the person or persons entitled under the laws of the domicile of the employee at the time of his death.

§ 5583. Payment of money due; settlement of accounts

(a) Under such regulations as the Director of the Office of Personnel Management may prescribe, the employing agency shall pay money due a deceased employee to the beneficiary designated by the employee under section 5582(b) of this title, or, if none, to the widow or widower of the employee.

(b) The Director may by regulation prescribe the method for settlement of accounts payable under subsection (a) of this section. However

(1) accounts of employees of the government of the District of Columbia shall be paid by the District of Columbia; and

(2) accounts of employees of Government corporations or mixed ownership Government corporations may be paid by the corporations.

§ 5584. Claims for overpayment of pay and allowances, and of travel, transportation and relocation expenses and allowances

(a) A claim of the United States against a person arising out of an erroneous payment of pay or allowances made on or after July 1, 1960, or arising out of an erroneous payment of travel, transportation or relocation expenses and allowances, to an employee of an agency, the collection of which would be against equity and good conscience and not in the best interests of the United States, may be waived in whole or in part by

(1) the authorized official;

(2) the head of an agency when

(A) the claim is in an amount aggregating not more than $1,500; and

(B) the waiver is made in accordance with standards which the authorized official shall prescribe; or

(3) the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts when the claim is in an amount aggregating not more than $10,000 and involves an officer or employee of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, or any of the courts set forth in section 610 of title 28.

(b) The authorized official or the head of the agency, as the case may be, may not exercise his authority under this section to waive any claim

(1) if, in his opinion, there exists, in connection with the claim, an 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;

(2) except in the case of employees of the Government Printing Office, the Library of Congress, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, or the Botanic Garden, if application for waiver is received in his office, after the expiration of three years immediately following the date on which the erroneous payment of pay was discovered or three years immediately following October 21, 1968, whichever is later;

(3) except in the case of employees of the Government Printing Office, the Library of Congress, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, or the Botanic Garden, if application for waiver is received in his office after the expiration of three years immediately following the date on which the erroneous payment of allowances was discovered or three years immediately following October 2, 1972, whichever is later;

(4) in the case of employees of the Government Printing Office, the Library of Congress, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, or the Botanic Garden, if application for waiver is received in his office after the expiration of 3 years immediately following the date on which the erroneous payment of pay or allowances was discovered or 3 years immediately following July 25, 1974, whichever is later; or

(5) in the case of a claim involving an erroneous payment of travel, transportation or relocation expenses and allowances, if application for waiver is received in his office after the expi

ration of 3 years immediately following the date on which the erroneous payment was discovered.

(c) A person who has repaid to the United States all or part of the amount of a claim, with respect to which a waiver is granted under this section, is entitled, to the extent of the waiver, to refund, by the employing agency at the time of the erroneous payment, of the amount repaid to the United States, if he applies to that employing agency for that refund within two years following the effective date of the waiver. The employing agency shall pay that refund in accordance with this section.

(d) In the audit and settlement of the accounts of any accountable official, full credit shall be given for any amounts with respect to which collection by the United States is waived under this section.

(e) An erroneous payment, the collection of which is waived under this section, is deemed a valid payment for all purposes.

(f) This section does not affect any authority under any other statute to litigate, settle, compromise, or waive any claim of the United States.

(g) For the purpose of this section, "agency" means—

(1) an Executive agency;

(2) the Government Printing Office;

(3) the Library of Congress;

(4) the Office of the Architect of the Capitol;

(5) the Botanic Garden; and

(6) the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, and any of the courts set forth in section 610 of title 28.

For purposes of this section, the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall be the head of the agency in the case of those entities set forth in paragraph (6) of this subsection.

(g)1 For the purpose of this section, the term “authorized official" means—

(1) the head of an agency, with respect to an agency or employee in the legislative branch; or

(2) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, with respect to any other agency or employee.

1So in original. Section 103(d)(3) of Public Law 104-316 (110 Stat. 3829) added a new subsection (g). There was a subsection (g) there already, should be redesignated subsection “(h)”.

SUBCHAPTER IX-SEVERANCE PAY AND BACK PAY

[§§ 5591 to 5594. Repealed. Pub. L. 90-83, § 1(34)(B), Sept. 11, 1967, 81 Stat. 201.]

§ 5595. Severance pay

(a) For the purpose of this section

(1) "agency" means

(A) an Executive agency;

(B) the Library of Congress;

(C) the Government Printing Office;

(D) the government of the District of Columbia;

(E) the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, and the courts named by section 610 of title 28; and

(F) the Office of the Architect of the Capitol; and

(2) "employee" means

(A) an individual employed in or under an agency; and (B) an individual employed by a county committee established under section 590h(b) of title 16; but does not include

(i) an employee (other than a member of the Senior Executive Service or the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration Senior Executive Service or an employee whose pay is fixed under section 5376) whose rate of basic pay is fixed at a rate provided for one of the levels of the Executive Schedule or is in excess of the minimum rate for the Executive Schedule;

(ii) an employee serving under an appointment with a definite time limitation, except one so appointed for fulltime employment without a break in service of more than 3 days following service under an appointment without time limitation;

(iii) an alien employee who occupies a position outside the several States, the District of Columbia, and the areas and installations in the Republic of Panama made available to the United States pursuant to the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 and related agreements (as described in section 3(a) of the Panama Canal Act of 1979);

(iv) an employee who is subject to subchapter III of chapter 83 of this title or any other retirement statute or retirement system applicable to an employee as defined by section 2105 of this title or a member of a uniformed service and, who, at the time of separation from the service, has fulfilled the requirements for immediate annuity under such a statute or system;

(v) an employee who, at the time of separation from the service, is receiving compensation under subchapter I

of chapter 81 of this title, other than one receiving this compensation concurrently with pay or on account of the death of another individual;

(vi) an employee who, at the time of separation from the service, is entitled to receive benefits under section 609(b)(1) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 or any other severance pay from the Government;

(vii) an employee of the Tennessee Valley Authority;

(viii) an employee of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, who is employed on a temporary when actually employed basis;

(ix) 1 an employee of the Government Printing Office, who is employed on a temporary when actually employed basis; or

(x) such other employee as may be excluded by regulations of the President or such other officer or agency as he may designate.

(b) Under regulations prescribed by the President or such officer or agency as he may designate, an employee who

(1) has been employed currently for a continuous period of at least 12 months; and

(2) is involuntarily separated from the service, not by removal for cause on charges of misconduct, delinquency, or inefficiency;

is entitled to be paid severance pay in regular pay periods by the agency from which separated. However, the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States may prescribe regulations to affect the application and operation of this section to the agencies specified in subsection (a)(1)(E) of this section. The Architect of the Capitol may prescribe regulations to effect the application and operation of this section to the agency specified in subsection (a)(1)(F) of this section. The Public Printer may prescribe regulations to effect the application and operation of this section to the agency specified in subsection (a)(1)(G) of this section.

(c) Severance pay consists of—

(1) a basic severance allowance computed on the basis of 1 week's basic pay at the rate received immediately before separation for each year of civilian service up to and including 10 years for which severance pay has not been received under this or any other authority and 2 weeks' basic pay at that rate for each year of civilian service beyond 10 years for which severance pay has not been received under this or any other authority; and

(2) an age adjustment allowance computed on the basis of 10 percent of the total basic severance allowance for each year by which the age of the recipient exceeds 40 years at the time of separation.

Total severance pay under this section may not exceed 1 year's pay at the rate received immediately before separation. For the purpose of this subsection, "basic pay" includes premium pay under section 5545(c)(1) of this title.

1So in original; should be moved 2-ems to the left to align with (vii).