950.901—Payroll allotment.
The policies and procedures in this section are authorized for payroll withholding operations in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management Pay Administration regulations in part 550 of this Title.
(a) Applicability.
Voluntary payroll allotments will be authorized by all Federal departments and agencies for payment of charitable contributions to local CFC organizations.
(1)
Employees whose net pay regularly is sufficient to cover the allotment are eligible. An employee serving under an appointment limited to 1 year or less may make an allotment to a CFC when an appropriate official of the employing Federal agency determines that the employee will continue employment for a period to justify an allotment. This includes military reservists, National Guard, and other part-time and intermittent employees who are regularly employed.
(2)
Members of the Uniformed Services are eligible, excluding those on only short-term assignment (less than 3 months).
(c) Authorization.
Allotments will be totally voluntary and will be based upon contributor's individual authorization.
(1)
The CFC Pledge Form, in conformance with § 950.402, is the only form for authorization of the CFC payroll allotment and may be reproduced by each PCFO. The pledge forms and official Charity List will be made available to employees when charitable contributions are solicited.
(2)
The original copy of each paper pledge form (payroll allotment authorization or an acceptable electronic version) should be transmitted to the contributor's servicing payroll office as promptly as possible, preferably by December 15. However, if pledge forms are received after that date they should be accepted and processed by the payroll office.
(d) Duration.
Authorization of allotments will be in the form of a term allotment. Term authorizations will be in effect for 1 full year—26, 24, or 12 pay periods depending on the allotter's pay schedule—starting with the first pay period beginning in January and ending with the last pay period that begins in December. Three months of employment is considered the minimum amount of time that is reasonable for establishing an allotment.
(e) Amount.
Allotters will make a single allotment that is apportioned into equal amounts for deductions each pay period during the year.
(1)
The minimum amount of the allotment will be determined by the LFCC but will not be less than $1 per payday, with no restriction on the size of the increment above that minimum.
(3)
No deduction will be made for any period in which the allotter's net pay, after all legal and previously authorized deductions, is insufficient to cover the CFC allotment. No adjustment will be made in subsequent periods to make up for missed deductions.
(f) Remittance.
One check will be sent by the payroll office each pay period, in the gross amount of deductions on the basis of current authorizations, to the Central Receipt and Accounting Point (CRP) at each local CFC location for which the payroll office has received allotment authorizations. The Director will provide a list of the authorized CRP's to Federal payroll offices.
(1)
The check will be accompanied by a statement identifying the agency, the dates of the pay period, pay period number, and the total number of employee deductions.
(g) Discontinuance.
Term allotments will be discontinued automatically on expiration of the 1 year withholding period, or on the death, retirement, or separation of the allotter from the Federal service, whichever is earlier.
(1)
An allotter may revoke a term authorization at any time by requesting it in writing from the payroll office. Discontinuance will be effective the first pay period beginning after receipt of the written revocation in the payroll office.
(h) Transfer.
When an allotter moves to another organizational unit served by a different payroll office in the same CFC location, whether in the same office or a different Department or agency, his or her allotment authorization should be transferred to the new payroll office.
(i) Accounting.
Federal payroll offices will oversee the establishment of individual allotment accounts, the deductions each pay period, and the reconciliation of employee accounts in accordance with agency and General Accounting Office requirements. The payroll office will accept responsibility for the accuracy of remittances, as supported by current allotment authorizations, and internal accounting and auditing requirements.
(1)
The PCFO shall notify the federations, national and international organizations, and local organizations as soon as practicable after the completion of the campaign, but in no case later than a date to be determined by OPM, of the amounts, if any, designated to them and their member agencies and of the amounts of the undesignated funds, if any, allocated to them. The date will be part of the annual timetable issued by the Director under § 950.801(b).
(2)
The PCFO is responsible for the accuracy of disbursements it transmits to recipients. It shall transmit disbursements at least quarterly, minus the approved proportionate share for administrative cost reimbursement and the PCFO fee set forth in § 950.106. It shall remit the contributions to each organization or to the federation, if any, of which the organization is a member. The PCFO will distribute all CFC receipts beginning April 1, and quarterly thereafter. At the close of each disbursement period, the PCFO's CFC account shall have a balance of zero.
(3)
The PCFO may make one-time disbursements to organizations receiving minimal donations from Federal employees. The LFCC must determine and authorize the amount of these one-time disbursements. The PCFO may deduct the proportionate amount of each organization's share of the campaign's administrative costs and the average of the previous 3 years pledge loss from the one-time disbursement. This is the only approved application of adjusting for pledge loss.
(4)
Federated and national charitable organizations, or their designated agents, will accept responsibility for:
(i)
The accuracy of distribution amount the charitable organizations of remittances from the PCFO; and
(ii)
Arrangements for an independent audit conducted by a certified public accountant agreed upon by the participating charitable organizations.