256.12—Standards for determining extreme financial hardship.
(a)
An offset will be considered to produce an extreme financial hardship for an employee if the offset prevents the employee from meeting the costs necessarily incurred for essential subsistence expenses of the employee and his spouse and dependents. Essential subsistence expenses consist of the costs incurred for medical care, food, housing, clothing, and transportation only.
(b)
In determining whether an offset would prevent the employee from meeting the essential subsistence costs described in paragraph (a) of this section, the following matters shall be considered—
(2)
The extent to which the assets of the employee and his spouse and dependents are available to pay the debt or the essential subsistence expenses;
(4)
The extent to which the employee and his spouse and dependents can borrow money to pay the debt or the essential subsistence expenses; and
(5)
The extent to which the employee and his spouse and dependents have other exceptional expenses that should be taken into account, and whether these expenses have been minimized.