Jesus Morales, ALJ Ruling 2026-25 (HHS-CRD June 2, 2026)

DISMISSAL

Petitioner, Jesus Morales, requests a hearing in connection with a debt notification letter issued by his employer, the Social Security Administration (SSA or the agency).  As explained below, I find that Petitioner waived his right to a hearing by failing to timely request a hearing and, therefore, Petitioner’s request for hearing is DISMISSED. 

I. Background

On January 21, 2026, SSA sent Petitioner, an SSA employee, a debt notification letter stating he owes a debt to the agency in the amount of $113.16 for an alleged overpayment related to Petitioner’s health benefits for pay period 2025-22.  See Departmental Appeals Board (DAB) Docket (Dkt.) Entry Number (No.) 1a at 9.  The letter stated that if Petitioner failed to repay the debt voluntarily, the debt would be collected through salary deductions.  Id. at 1. 

The debt letter outlined Petitioner’s due process rights in connection with the alleged debt.  Among other provisions, the letter stated that if Petitioner wished to challenge the “existence or amount of the debt,” he had 15 days to request a hearing.  Id. at 8. 

Page 2

On March 24, 2026, Petitioner sent an email to the email address on the debt letter requesting “the right to a hearing regarding my OVERPAYMENT.  The OVERPAYMENT was paid in full on 01/29/2026 via PAY.GOV.”  DAB Dkt. Entry No 1 (Hearing Request) at 4.  Petitioner’s Hearing Request did not address the untimeliness. 

On March 27, 2026, I issued an Acknowledgment, Order to Show Cause, and Stay of Decision Deadline (Show Cause Order).  DAB Dkt. Entry No. 2.  The Show Cause Order directed SSA to brief whether (1) Petitioner’s hearing request was timely, (2) SSA’s position on the 60-day statutory limitation, and (3) the current collection status of Petitioner’s alleged debt.  Id. at 2.  Petitioner was given an opportunity to respond.  Id. at 3.  A courtesy copy of the Show Cause Order was sent to Petitioner via email on the same day.  Petitioner responded immediately to the courtesy email stating,

• I was instructed by Ms. Penny Oliver who is my Assistant District Manager (ADM) that she will take the matter up with the Area Director’s Office (ADO) in Atlanta, GA.  I address [sic] the issue with her as soon as I received the notice in the mail in January 2026.  She instructed me to pay the overpayment in the morning.  In the afternoon, on the same day she instructed me to pay the overpayment she asked me if I paid the overpayment and I informed her that I did.  She informed me that the Area Director’s Office will look into it. 

DAB Dkt. Entry No. 4 (March 27, 2026 email).  Petitioner also stated, “I believe this money was already taken out of may pay-checks when my monies were paid after the government shut-down.”  Id. 

On April 3, 2026, SSA electronically filed a Response to the Show Cause Order.  DAB Dkt. Entry No. 6.  SSA argued Petitioner’s Hearing Request was untimely and not excused, that the 60-day time limitation commenced on March 24, 2026, and that the $113.16 debt was collected when Petitioner sent in his payment via pay.gov.  Id. at 1-3. 

On April 3, 2026, Petitioner filed a letter and two attachments.  DAB Dkt. Entry Nos. 7, 7a, 7b.  Petitioner’s letter repeated the information from his March 27, 2026 email.  The first attachment was a copy of the debt letter.  And second attachment was an email thread between Petitioner and SSA staff related to a cash award and the overpayment.  Id. 

Page 3

II. Discussion and Analysis

1. Petitioner waived his right to a hearing by failing to submit a timely request for hearing. 

Pursuant to the salary offset statute and regulations, an SSA employee has 15 days from receiving a notice of salary offset to request a hearing.  5 U.S.C. § 5514(a)(1)(D); 20 C.F.R. § 422.810(h)(1)(i).1  Generally, if the employee fails to request a hearing within the 15-day period, the right to a hearing is waived.  20 C.F.R. § 422.810(h)(2)(ii)(A).  The regulations, however, provide that an untimely request for hearing may be accepted if the employee establishes “either that the delay was the result of circumstances beyond the employee’s control or that the employee failed to receive actual notice of the filing deadline.”  Id. § 422.810(h)(2)(i). 

Here, Petitioner’s Hearing Request is dated March 24, 2026, 62 days after the January 21, 2026 debt notification.  DAB Dkt. Entry No. 1 at 4.  The hearing request does not provide an explanation for being filed beyond the 15-day window.  Additionally, in Petitioner’s March 27, 2026 email, Petitioner stated that “[he] received the notice in the mail in January 2026.”  DAB Dkt. Entry No. 4.  This statement leads me to believe that Petitioner received the debt letter shortly after January 21, 2026, and there was no excusable delay.  I also note that Petitioner paid the debt after being “instructed to pay the overpayment.”  Id.  I understand, Petitioner’s ADM may have given Petitioner a directive to pay the overpayment while the ADO was reviewing the debt, but Petitioner could have filed his Hearing Request timely, as the debt letter provided Petitioner with clear instructions on when to file an appeal and his due process rights. 

Based on my review of the available record, Petitioner was well beyond the permittable 15-day window to file his appeal, did not provide a reason for the delay, and paid the debt.  Accordingly, Petitioner has waived his right to a hearing, and I lack the jurisdiction to review the hearing request.  See 20 C.F.R. § 422.810(h)(2)(ii)(A). 

Page 4

III. Order

For all the reasons stated above, Petitioner’s request for hearing is DISMISSED and this matter is closed. 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Served via DAB E-File