(a) Determination of disposable pay. The Board will determine an employee’s disposable pay (as defined in § 1710.103) and will implement salary offset as described in paragraph (c) of this section, or when requested by another agency, as described in § 1710.113(c). If the debtor is not employed by the Board, the Board will request the agency employing the debtor to determine the amount of the employee’s disposable pay and implement salary offset upon request.

(b) When salary offset begins. Deductions will begin within three official pay periods following receipt of the creditor agency’s request for offset.

(c) Amount of salary offset. The amount to be offset from each salary payment will be up to 15 percent of a debtor’s disposable pay, as follows:

(1) If the amount of the debt is equal to or less than 15 percent of the disposable pay, such debt generally will be collected in one lump sum payment;

(2) Installment deductions will be made over a period of no greater than the anticipated period of employment. An installment deduction will not exceed 15 percent of the disposable pay from which the deduction is made unless the employee has agreed in writing to the deduction of a greater amount. An installment deduction may be less than 15 percent of disposable pay if the creditor agency has determined that smaller deductions are appropriate based on the employee’s ability to pay.

(d) Final salary payment. After the employee has separated either voluntarily or involuntarily from the payment agency, the p]ayment agency may make a lump sum deduction exceeding 15 percent of disposable pay from any final salary or other payments pursuant to 31 U.S.C. § 3716 in order to satisfy the debt.

(e) Multiple debts. In instances where two or more creditor agencies are seeking salary offset, or where two or more debts are owed to a single creditor agency, the Board’s finance office may, at its discretion, determine whether one or more debts should be offset simultaneously within the 15 percent limitation.

(f) Precedence of debts owed to the Board. For Board employees, debts owed to the Board generally take precedence over debts owed to other agencies. In the event that a debt to the Board is certified while an employee is subject to a salary offset to repay another agency, the Board’s finance office may decide whether to have that debt repaid in full before collecting its claim or whether changes should be made in the salary deduction being sent to the other agency. If debts owed to the Board can be collected in one pay period, the finance office may suspend the salary offset to the other agency for that pay period in order to liquidate the Board debt.

(g) Order of debt collection. When an employee owes two or more debts, the best interests of the government shall be the primary consideration in determining the order of debt collection. The Board’s finance office, in making this determination, will be guided primarily by the statute of limitations that affects the collection of the debt(s).