This Memorandum of Understanding represents the results of impact and implementation negotiations between the Parties arising from the Hatch Act Reform Amendments of 1993, Public Law 103-94. This Memorandum is subject to the provisions of those Amendments.

1. The agency will not initiate action to garnish an employee's salary pursuant to Public Law 103-94 unless the person seeking such garnishment has properly served the agency with legal process in accordance with the procedures contained in that law, and in the regulations of the Office of Personnel Management, Title 5, CFR Part 582.

2. The agency will respond only once to valid legal process served by any person concerning an employee.

3. Upon receipt of legal process from a person seeking garnishment of the salary of an employee, the agency shall send to the employee, at his or her duty station or last known home address, written notice that such process has been served, including a copy of the legal process, and any other documents submitted in support of or in addition to the process.

4. In determining the amount of payment due from, or payable by, the agency to an employee, there shall be excluded those amounts which would be excluded under Section 462(g) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. � 662(g)). Amounts received under any Federal program for compensation for work injuries are also excluded.

5. A legal process to which the agency is subject under Sections 459, 461, and 462 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. �� 659, 661, and 662) for the enforcement of the employee's legal obligation to provide child support or make alimony payments shall have priority over any legal process to which the agency is subject under Public Law 103-94.

6. The provisions of Public Law 103-94 do not modify or supersede the Sections of the Social Security Act cited in paragraph 5 concerning legal process brought for the enforcement of an employee's legal obligations to provide child support or make alimony payments.

7. Subject to the provisions of Public Law 103-94, and the provisions of Section 303 of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. � 1673), pay from the agency to an employee is subject to legal process in the same manner and to the same extent as if the agency were a private person.

8. In no case will the total garnishment of a bargaining unit member's pay for commercial debts exceed 25% of his or her aggregate disposable earnings for any workweek, as defined in Title 5, CFR Part 582.

9. The agency shall not vary its normal pay and disbursement cycle in order to comply with any legal process concerning any bargaining unit member under this MOU.

10. Agency information disclosed in response to interrogatories shall comply with the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. � 552a.

11. The agency agrees to take prompt action to terminate or modify a garnishment when notified that, as a result of a payment or an agreement between the employee and the creditor, such termination or modification is appropriate. Such action will take place within 30 days of receipt by the agency of this notification.

12. Prior to establishing any policy regarding assessment of fees to recover the administrative costs of garnishment, the agency will notify the union in accordance with Article 9, Section 9-05 of the NAATS/FAA Agreement.

13. Claims that an employee has been adversely affected by the agency's failure to comply with its obligations under Public Law 103-94 or this MOU may be brought under the grievance procedure in the NAATS/FAA Agreement.

14. In the event that an employee against whom a garnishment was processed prior to the date of this MOU wishes to file a grievance pursuant to paragraph 13, such grievance will be considered timely if it is initiated under Article 67, Section 67-08 within 30 days of the date of this MOU.

15. The agency will place a copy of this MOU in all Read and Initial (R&I) Binders at all facilities where NAATS bargaining unit members are employed.

16. Nothing in this MOU constitutes a waiver by either Party of any statutory or contractual right.

Date: 6/26/95