We believe that your bank may close the account without providing thirty days’ notice, given the physical risks posed by this customer to your employees and other customers, but we recommend consulting with bank counsel before doing so.

The “Green Book” (the Treasury’s Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments and Collections) requires thirty days’ written notice before a financial institution may close an account that is receiving federal benefit payments. However, the Green Book recognizes an exception to this rule where fraud is suspected, in which case an account may be closed immediately. Although we are unaware of any guidance related to customers suspected of posing physical harm to a bank employee, we believe that your bank may determine that the potential risk merits account closure with less than thirty days’ notice.

Should your bank determine that it is necessary to close the customer’s account with less than thirty days’ notice — either within a shorter timeframe or immediately — the customer should be advised to make other arrangements for the handling of his social security payments and informed of the date his account will be closed. Any social security payments received after the account has been closed should be immediately returned.

We also recommend reviewing your account agreement with respect to any notice requirements for account closures and applicable exceptions.

For resourses related to our guidance, please see:

• U.S. Treasury, A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments (the Green Book), Chapter 1 (January 2016 Revision) (“Financial institutions may close an account to which benefit payments are currently being sent thereby revoking the enrollment authorization by providing a 30‐day written notice to the recipient prior to closing the account. In cases involving fraud, accounts may be closed immediately. . . .”)

• U.S. Treasury, A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments (the Green Book), Chapter 1 (January 2016 Revision) (“The 30‐day written notice should remind the recipient to make other arrangements for the handling of his / her payments. The financial institution must credit to the recipient’s account any payments received during the 30‐day notice period. The financial institution must also immediately return to the Federal government all payments received after the 30‐day notice period. A financial institution that closes the account without properly termination the enrollment must make the funds available to the recipient until proper notice is provided.”)

• U.S. Treasury, A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments (the Green Book), Chapter 4 (January 2016 Revision) (“All ACH Payments must be returned in accordance with NACHA Operating Rules. An ACH payment must be returned if: . . . The account has been closed by the recipient, or the financial institution has closed the account after giving the recipient 30 days written notice (except where fraud is suspected; then the account may be closed immediately.”)

• Chicago Marine & Fire Ins. Co. v. Stanford, 28 Ill. 168, 173 (Ill. S. Ct. 1862) (“If the banker finds the depositor a troublesome customer, so that the account is not a desirable one, he may tender the full amount of the deposit, and refuse to receive more, and thus close the account; and after that, if the depositor should refuse to receive the money, his right to draw out the deposit in parcels would be terminated, unless, perhaps, there might be an exception in favor of the bona fide holder of his check.”)