§ 20.77 Agency responsibilities.

(a) Each Department of Labor agency which has delinquent debts owed under its program and administrative activities is responsible for collecting its claims by means of salary offset, in accordance with guidelines established by the Chief Financial Officer. (b) Before collecting a claim by means of salary offset, the responsible agency should be satisfied that salary offset is feasible, allowable and appropriate, and, as otherwise provided in these regulations, must notify the debtor of the Department's policies for collecting a claim by means of salary offset. (c) Whether collection by salary offset is feasible is a determination to be made by the creditor agency on a case-by-case basis, in the exercise of sound discretion. Agencies shall consider not only whether salary offset can be accomplished, both practically and legally, but also whether offset is best suited to further and protect all of the Government's interests. In appropriate circumstances, agencies may give due consideration to the debtor's financial condition, and are not required to use offset of the full or partial amount of the claim in every instance in which there is an available source of funds. (d) Before advising the debtor that the delinquent debt will be subject to salary offset, the agency head (or designee) responsible for administering the program under which the debt arose shall review the claim and determine that the debt is valid and overdue. In the case where a debt arises under the programs of two or more Department of Labor agencies, or in such other instances as the Chief Financial Officer, or his or her designee, may deem appropriate, the Chief Financial Officer, or his or her designee, may determine which agency (or agencies), or official (or officials), shall have responsibility for carrying out the provisions of this subpart. (e) Agencies may not initiate offset to collect a debt more than 10 years after the Government's right to collect the debt first accrued, unless facts material to the right to collect the debt were not known and could not reasonably have been known by the official of the Agency who was charged with the responsibility to discover and collect such debts. When the debt first accrued should be determined according to existing laws regarding the accrual of debts, such as under 28 U.S.C. 2415.