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B-261628 1 (1996-06-13)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptadqx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Comptroller General of the United States Washington, D.C. 20548 Decision Matter of: Amadeo Martinez, Jr.-Denial of Waiver for Erroneous Payment File: B-261628 Date: June 13, 1996 DIGEST 1. Waiver is denied for duplicate payments for 288 hours of restored leave. While there are no indications of fraud, misrepresentation, or lack of good faith on the part of the employee, he is not free of fault since he should have been aware that he had received a duplicate payment and been overpaid. The erroneous payment was essentially a duplicate payment within a 2-week period for the same 288 hours of restored leave, and employee had a responsibility to set it aside, available for refund, while pursuing an explanation from responsible agency officials. 2. Employee is indebted in the gross amount of overpayment even though he did not directly receive all these monies which he is indebted to repay, such as taxes, an allotment, health and life insurance, and other amounts that were deducted on his behalf. In the event, however, that the agency is able to directly recoup amounts withheld for the employee, such as life insurance, medicare, state taxes, or other benefits, then the amount of indebtedness owed by the employee shall be diminished accordingly. The matter of the employee's federal income tax liability is under the jurisdiction of the Internal Revenue Service, so the employee should discuss matters involving the withholding of federal income tax with the IRS office which services the area in which he resides. DECISION Amadeo Martinez, Jr., a former employee of the Special Accounts Division of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), Columbus, Ohio, appeals our Settlement Certificate1 denying his claim for waiver of his debt to the United States in the amount of $5,581.44 arising from duplicate payments within a 2-week period for 288 hours of restored leave. For the reasons stated below, we deny waiver. 1Z-2942134-025, March 13, 1995. 1136610