Advance in Pay

New employees may request an Advance in Pay of no more than 2 paychecks (minus deductions) in order to meet living and other expenses associated with new employment. A "new" employee may be an individual newly appointed, appointed after a 90-day break in service, or appointed after a 90-day period of leave without pay following the termination of a Student Career Experience Program appointment. The following information outlines program requirements and application instructions: The employee must have a scheduled tour of duty and be serving under an appointment not limited to 6 months or less.

The advance in pay may not be made prior to the date of appointment (the date on which the employee takes the oath of office) and no later than 60 days after the date of appointment.

Requests should be in memo form to the Personnel Officer, document financial or other hardship, and be approved by the employee’s first and second level supervisors.

The advance in pay may be up to 2 pay periods of basic pay.

The maximum amount of pay is the rate to which the employee is entitled, reduced by the amount of any applicable allotments or deductions from pay.

A repayment agreement must accompany the request for an advance.

The repayment agreement should establish a payment schedule, the total amount of the advance in pay, the total number of pay periods for repayment of the advance and the amount that will be deducted by payroll deduction each pay period.

An advance of pay must be recovered by payroll deduction within 14 pay periods of the date of payment of the advance in pay.

Repayment of the outstanding balance may be made by check any time before the repayment is due.

Department of Commerce Repayment Agreement Form [PDF]

New employees interested in requesting an advance in pay should contact Cindy Tucker, Pay, Benefits & Services Branch, HRD, 301-763-8062 for further information.