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SUPPORTING STATEMENT A

Procedures for Submitting Compensation and Leave Claims

(OMB Control No. 3206-0232; Form OPM 1673)

OPM 1673-Procedures for Submitting Compensation and Leave Claims

1. Justification

1. Pursuant to the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act of 1996, most of the claims settlement functions performed by the General Accounting Office, now known as the Government Accountability Office (GAO), were transferred to the Director, Office of Management and Budget. See Sec. 211, Pub.L. 104-53, 109 Stat. 535. Subsequently, the Acting Director delegated these functions to various components within the Executive Branch in a determination order dated June 28, 1996. In summary, this order delegated to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) the authority to settle claims against the United States involving Federal civilian employees’ compensation and leave, deceased employees’ compensation, and proceeds of cancelled checks for veterans’ benefits payable to deceased beneficiaries. Congress then codified these changes through additional legislation. See Pub.L. 104-316, 110 Stat. 3826. OPM promulgated regulations at title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), part 178, setting forth detailed procedures for settling claims. These procedures contain certain collections of information which will assist OPM in determining the rights of claimants by requiring that the information is submitted in an efficient and organized matter.

2. This collection of information does not require the use of a form. However, OPM created OPM 1673 and have included it on our electronic forms page to assist the public.

3. Improved information technology will do little to reduce the burden. The information collected cannot be obtained from other sources.

3. The forms are filed individually. Similar information is not available. Duplication is minimized.

3. Information is not collected from small businesses.

3. The collection of this information is performed as needed to process to process compensation and leave claims.

7. This information collection is consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.6, except 1320.6(b). A timely response is necessary in order to determine a claimant’s rights.

7. A 60-day notice of the proposed information collection was published in the Federal Resister on June 17, 2008, as required by 5 CFR 1320, giving persons outside the agency an opportunity to comment on the form. No comments were received during the 60-day comment period. A 30-day notice will be published in the Federal Register with this submission.

7. No payment or gift is made to the respondents

7. This information collection is protected by the Privacy Act of 1974 and OPM regulations (5 CFR 293.201 and 293.202).

7. The information collection does not include questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private.

7. Based on our records, approximately 80 claims are submitted annually. It takes approximately 60 minutes to compile the information needed to submit a claim. The annual estimated burden is 80 hours.

7. There is no cost to the respondents.

7. The annualized cost to the Federal Government is $100,000. This cost includes employee salary hours devoted to the program and overhead.

7. Over the past few years, our experience has shown that the number of claims received by OPM has increased from approximately 37 in 2004 to 94 in 2008. This increase appears due to such factors as changes in pay setting regulations, legislative changes in crediting military and non-Federal experience for purposes of leave accrual, and attempts to reverse agency-level denials of overseas allowances due to the loss of purchasing power by the American dollar against many foreign currencies.

7. In the event of a disputed claim, OPM reviews the information submitted by the claimant and the agency and renders a decision on whether to grant or deny the claim. The decision is documented in a synopsis which explains the facts of the claim and the justification for the decision. The decision is then placed on OPM’s website, with any identifying information removed.

7. Based on the expense associate with reprinting forms, we request that the expiration date not be printed on the form.

7. There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

B. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods

This information collection does not employ statistical methods.

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