5 U.S.C. § 5512
Section 5512 · Withholding pay; individuals in arrears
This is the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 7 court decisions — leading case Jarecki v. United States (1979)
Most recently applied in United States v. Antonelli (July 1993)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) The pay of an individual in arrears to the United States shall be withheld until he has accounted for and paid into the Treasury of the United States all sums for which he is liable.
(b) When pay is withheld under subsection (a) of this section, the employing agency, on request of the individual, his agent, or his attorney, shall report immediately to the Attorney General the balance due; and the Attorney General, within 60 days, shall order suit to be commenced against the individual.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Statutes at Large 5 U.S.C. 82. R.S. §1766. In subsection (b), reference to the “General Accounting Office” is substituted for “accounting officers of the Treasury” on authority of the Act of June 10, 1921, ch. 18, title III, 42 Stat. 23. The words “on request of” are substituted for “if required to do so by” as more accurately reflecting the intent. Reference to the “Attorney General” is substituted for “Solicitor of the Treasury” and “Solicitor” on authority of section 16 of the Act of March 3, 1933, ch. 212, 47 Stat. 1517; section 5 of E.O. 6166, June 10, 1933; and section 1 of 1950 Reorg. Plan No. 2, 64 Stat. 1261.
Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.
Amendments
1996—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104–316 substituted “employing agency” for “General Accounting Office”.
1972—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 92–310 struck out “and his sureties” after “against the individual”.
Cross References
Armed Forces, withholding pay of officers, see section 1007 of Title 37, Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services.
Coast Guard, pay of enlisted men indebted to United States, see section 461 of Title 14, Coast Guard.
Deductions from military and civilian pay for recovery of erroneous payments, see section 5514 of this title.