§5522 Advance payments; rates; amounts recoverable

Summary

Agency heads may give an employee an advance of up to 30 days of pay, allowances, and differentials when the employee is officially ordered or allowed to leave a place inside or outside the United States. In an emergency, an agency can also advance money to an employee of another agency if that other agency will pay it back. Advances are allowed when the Secretary of State says people must leave a foreign place in the national interest, or when there is imminent danger to the life of the employee or their dependents or immediate family. The advance is paid at the rates the employee is authorized on the payment date, but it cannot be more than the rate the employee had just before the departure order and is subject to any account adjustments required by other laws. The United States or the District of Columbia can recover the advance from the employee or the employee’s estate by taking it from accrued pay, retirement credit, or other amounts owed, or by other legal methods.