FAQs

The FECA is a law which provides benefits for civilian employees of the United States who have suffered work-related injuries or occupational diseases.  These benefits include payment of medical expenses and compensation for wage loss. The FECA also provides for payment of benefits to dependents of employees who die from work-related injuries or diseases.  However, the FECA does not provide retirement benefits.  Employees who fully or partially recover from their injuries are expected to return to work  The FECA provides vocational rehabilitation services to partially disabled employees for this purpose.

No.  FECA coverage is extended to Federal employees regardless of the length of time on the job or the type of position held.  Probationary, temporary, and term employees are covered on the same basis as permanent employees. ALso, part-time, seasonal, and intermittent employees are covered.

ALL kinds of injuries, including diseases caused by employment, are covered if they occur in the performance of duty (see additional information under the Entitlement of Benefits section of the FAQ below).  However, benefits cannot be paid if injury or death is caused by willful misconduct of the injured employee, by intent to bring about the injury or death of oneself or another, or by intoxication of the injured employee.

Yes.  Diseases and illnesses aggravated, accelerated or precipitated by the employment are covered.  The employee must submit medical and factual evidence showing that the employment aggravated, accelerated, or precipitated the medical condition.

ALL injuries should be reported when they occur, since a minor injury sometimes develops into a more serious condition.  Benefits cannot be paid unless an injury is reported.

No.  However, the employee may obtain the services of an attorney or representative if desired.  A Federal employee may not serve as a representative unless he or she is an immediate family member of the injured worker or is acting in his or her official capacity as a union representative.  An OWCP employee may not act as a representative under any circumstances.  The employee must advise OWCP in writing of the name of the representative.  No special form is needed, but the employee must sign the statement.

No.  The FECA provides that assignment of a claim for compensation is void and all compensation payments are exempt from the claims of creditors.

However, disability compensation payments may be garnished for alimony and child support payments if allowed by state law, and the legal process is served according to state law.

Nothing.  Federal civilian employees are covered by the virtue of their employment status.

Yes.  Federal law (18 U.S.C. 1920) provides:

Whoever knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals, or covers up a material fact, or makes a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation, or makes or uses a false statement of report knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry in connection with the application for or receipt of compensation or other benefit or payment under subchapter I or III of chapter 81 of title 5, shall be guilty of perjury, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine under this title, or by imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both; but if the amount of the benefits falsely obtained does not exceed $1,000, such person shall be punished by a fine under this title, or by imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both.

Yes.  While workers’ compensation records are protected from release under the Privacy Act, the employer is considered a party to the claim.  It may receive information in the employee’s file under the “routine use”: provision of the regulations under which the Privacy Act is administered.  Such information includes medical reports.  Employers are expected, however, to handle this information with care and to restrict access to those with a specific need to have it.

The employee must advise the OWCP district office of any change of address in writing.  No special form is needed, but the statement must be signed.

1. Report the injury to  the supervisor right away and obtain first aid as necessary;
2. Complete a written report (Form CA-1 or CA-2) and give it to the supervisor;
3. If a traumatic injury is involved, and further medical treatment is needed, obtain authorization (form CA-16) from the supervisor for treatment by a physician of the employee’s choice.  If that physician is not available, the employee still has the right to choose a treating physician and should therefore select another;
4. If a traumatic injury is involved, furnish the supervisor with medical evidence of any disability within 10 calendar days of claiming continuation 0f pay.

• Form CA-1 – Federal Employee’s Notice of Traumatic Injury and Claim for Continuation of Pay/Compensation – is used to report a traumatic injury.
• Form CA-2 – Notice of Occupational Disease and Claim for Compensation – is used to report an occupational disease.
• The employee should carefully follow the instructions attached to Forms CA-1 and CA-2.  Form CA-1 should be filed within 30 days of the injury, and Form CA-2 should be filed within 30 days of the date the employee realized the disease or illness was caused or aggravated by the employment.  The forms may be obtained from the employer or from OWCP.
• The employer is expected to submit the completed form to OWCP within 10 workdays.

A traumatic injury is a wound or other condition of the body caused by external force, including stress or strain.  The injury must occur at a specific time and place, and it must affect a specific member or function of the body.  The injury must be caused by a specific event or incident, or a series of events or incidents, within a single day or work shift.

Traumatic injuries include damage solely to or destruction of prostheses, such as dentures or artificial limbs.  Traumatic injuries also include damage to or destruction of personal appliances such as eyeglasses or hearing aids, when a personal injury requiring medical services occurred.

An occupational disease or illness is a condition produced by the work environment over a period longer than one work day or shift.  The condition may result from infection, repeated stress or strain, or repeated exposure to toxins, poisons, fumes or other continuing condition of the work environment.

The length of exposure, not the cause of the injury or the medical condition which results, determines whether an injury is traumatic or occupational.  For instance, if an employee is exposed to toxic fumes for one day, the incident is considered a traumatic injury.  If the employee is exposed to toxic fumes for two or more days, the incident is considered an occupational disease.

A recurrence of disability is defined as an inability to work after an employee has returned to work, when the inability is caused by a spontaneous change in a medical condition which had resulted from a previous injury or illness without an intervening injury or new exposure to the work environment that caused the illness.

This term also means an inability to work that occurs when a light-duty assignment made specifically to accommodate an employee’s physical restriction due to his or her work-related injury or illness is withdrawn (except when such withdrawal occurs for reasons of misconduct, non-performance of job duties, or a reduction-in-force).  Finally, it means an inability to work that occurs when the physical requirements of such a light-duty assignment are changed so that they exceed an employee’s established medical restrictions.

In contrast, a new incident with an identifiable cause is defined as a new injury.

If an injured employee sustains additional disability as defined in the previous question, he or she should report the recurrence using Form CA-2a, “Notice of Recurrence”.  The form should be filed even if the recurrence occurs while the employer is paying COP.  The employee must submit the factual and medical evidence noted in the instructions on the form.  If the recurrent disability is related to the original injury, the employee is entitled to medical treatment and compensation.

The employee must provide medical and factual evidence to establish five basic elements:

• The claim was filed within the time limits set by the FECA
• The injured or deceased person was an employee within the meaning of the FECA
• The employee actually developed a medical condition (or damaged a prosthesis) in a particular way
• The employee was in the performance of duty when the event(s) leading to the claim occurred; and
• The medical condition found resulted from the event(s) leading to the claim.

A notice must be filed within three years of the date of injury. However, if a claim is not filed within three years, compensation may still be paid if written notice of injury was given within 30 days, or the employer had actual knowledge of the injury within 30 days after it occurred.

It must be shown that the employee actually sustained an injury or illness. Two factors are involved:

1. Did an incident occur at the time and place and in the manner claimed? This is determined on the basis of factual evidence, including statements from the employee, the supervisor, and any witnesses. An injury need not be witnessed to be compensable.
2. Is a medical condition present which may be related to the incident? This is determined on the basis of the attending physician’s statement.

Usually, the injury or illness must occur on the employer’s premises during working hours while the employee is performing assigned duties or engaging in an activity which is reasonably associated with the employment. Workers who perform assigned duties away from the employer’s premises are also covered.

An employee is considered to be in performance of duty during break or at lunch on the employer’s premises. Unless the employee is in travel status or is performing regular duties off the premises, an injury which occurs during lunch hour off the premises is not usually covered.

No. Employees are not generally covered by the FECA for injuries which occur before they reach the employer’s premises or after they have left it. However, coverage may be extended when the employer provides transportation to and from work, when the employee is required to travel during a curfew or an emergency, or when the employee is required to use his or her automobile during the work day.

An employee in travel status is covered 24 hours a day for all activities incidental to the work assignment. Such activities include obtaining meals, using the hotel room, and traveling between the hotel and the work site. They usually do not include recreational or sightseeing trips.

A medical connection between the injury and the condition found must be shown, based entirely on medical evidence provided by physicians who have examined and treated the employee.

Opinions of the employee, supervisors or witnesses are not considered, nor is general medical information in published articles. The fact that a condition appears dm:ing Federal employment does not establish causal relationship between the two. Likewise, the ·employee’s belief that work factors caused or aggravated the condition does not establish causal relationship.

Where a pre-existing condition involving the same part of the body is present, the physician must provide a medical opinion which states both the effects of the work-related condition and those of the pre-existing condition.

No. Only OWCP may make this decision. While the employer pays or withholds COP, this action is subject to review by OWCP in every case.

No. A condition for which medical benefits are payable may not prevent an employee from working. Whether disability benefits are payable depends on what the medical evidence says.

An accepted case remains open for as long as medical care or disability continues. Cases in which there is no activity for a period of several months are closed and may be sent to the Federal Records Center. However, a closed case can be requested from the Federal Records Center and reopened at any time.

• An oral hearing before an OWCP representative. The individual claiming
  · benefits can testifY and present written evidence. The hearing is held at a location near the individual’s home. He or she may have a representative at the hearing (see question A-9), but is not required to do so.
• A review of the written record by an OWCP representative. The individual claiming benefits will not be asked to attend or testify, but he or she may submit written evidence.
• Reconsideration by district office staff who were not involved in making the contested decision. The request must clearly state the grounds for requesting reconsideration, and it must include evidence not submitted before or a legal argument not made before.
• Review by the Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB). The ECAB is part of the U.S. Department of Labor but separate from OWCP. Review by the ECAB is limited to the evidence of record, and no new evidence may be submitted. The individual claiming benefits may be represented by an attorney or by any other person authorized by that individual. The ECAB must approve any fee for such representation.

COP is continuation of an employee’s regular pay for up to 45 calendar days of wage loss due to disability and/or medical treatment. It is paid by the employer only in connection with a traumatic injury. Employees with occupational disease claims are not eligible to receive COP.

Form CA-l, “Federal Employee’s Notice of Traumatic Injury and Claim for Continuation of Pay/Compensation,” is the form to use. It must be filed within 30 days of the injury.

No. The employee cannot be required to use leave when he or she suffers a traumatic injury. If COP is controverted and terminated (see questions D-3 and D-4) the employee may either use leave or take leave without pay and apply for compensation.

Yes. If Form CA-17 or a medical report from the employee’s physician shows that the employee can return to light or limited duty, the employee must do so. If the employee refuses to accept the work offered or fails to respond to the job offered, the employer may end COP effective the date that such light duty became available. OWCP will resolve any dispute regarding entitlement to COP.

Yes, except for Sunday and overtime pay, which are excluded by law.

COP is paid as salary, not compensation. It is therefore subject to the usual payroll deductions, such as those made for income taxes and retirement.