TREASURY ORDER 101-21

Date: July 17, 1997

Reaffirmed: June 27, 2002

Sunset Review: June 27, 2007

SUBJECT: Delegation of Authority to Approve Death Gratuity Payment

1. By virtue of the authority vested in the Secretary of the Treasury by 31 U.S.C. 321(b), I hereby delegate the authority of the Secretary under Section 651 of the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1997, as enacted in the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1997 (Public Law 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009-368-69) to the heads of bureaus and the Inspector General to exercise any right or power, make any finding or determination, or perform any duty or obligation which the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to exercise, make or perform under Section 651 related to such death gratuity payment.

2. For purposes of this delegation, the Deputy Assistant Secretary (Administration) shall serve as the head of the bureau for the Departmental Offices.

3. The death gratuity shall be in addition to other amounts paid and offset only by statutorily mandated amounts paid by the Department of Labor under 5 U.S.C. 8133(f), 5 U.S.C. 8134(a), and, if appropriate, any amount paid under Section 312, Public Law 103-332. The amount paid under the above authorities, plus the death gratuity payment, may not total more than $10,000. Before paying a death gratuity, the Department of Labor must be contacted to ascertain the amount of the offset.

4. Each death gratuity payment recommendation must be submitted to the bureau chief counsel for review, and must be approved by the head of the bureau, or the Inspector General. Complete and final authority to authorize the payment of a death gratuity, and to determine, in any particular case, who is the decedent's personal representative rests with the bureau head and the Inspector General for their respective organizations. These officials may be guided with respect to the determination of the decedent's personal representative by: (a) formal designations of executors and administrators made by the decedent, or by operation of State law; (b) orders of precedence governing the payment of a Federal employee's unpaid compensation, as set forth in Title 5; (c) advice and guidance from the Department of Labor; and (d) by any other factor(s) considered to be relevant.

5. The bureau head and Inspector General shall authorize death gratuity payments when presented with clear and convincing evidence that an employee, in the performance of duty, sustained an injury on or after August 2, 1990, which resulted in the employee's death. This includes employees who die after separation from service if the death is the result of an injury sustained in the line of duty. It does not include employees whose death is determined to have resulted from willful misconduct. Claims for payment which, by available evidence, do not clearly and convincingly establish entitlement to a death gratuity payment shall await a Department of Labor determination and the concurrence of the bureau head and Inspector General in the Department of Labor finding.

6. The authority delegated herein may not be redelegated.

/S/
Robert E. Rubin
Secretary of the Treasury

OPI: Office of Personnel Policy