The Federal Employment Compensation Act (FECA) is controlled by The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) under the United States Department of labor. The act provides coverage to federal workers who suffer work-related injuries. Again, the Act ensures that employees receive the compensation they deserve after sustaining injuries at their places of work. The people covered by the act include civilian government employees like the employees of Transportation Security Administration, Veterans Administration, Border Control, among others.
The laws outline various benefits entitled to the employees. If the patient's rehabilitation requires diagnoses like a brace, medication among other treatments, they will all be catered for by the federal worker's compensation. While a few practices will ask you to pay the medical bills out of pocket, you should not.
At The Workers Compensation Lawyer Law Firm, we don’t require our patients to pay any fees or upfront charges. If you or your loved one sustain work-related injuries in Los Angeles, CA, we are here to help you. Your work-related injuries will be covered under the federal employee's compensation act. Thus, the worker's compensation program office will pay the expenses.
What is The Federal Employment Compensation Act in the US?
The Federal Employees Compensation Act is the statute that applies to all federal workers suffering work-related injuries. The statute requires compensation benefits to the injured federal workers. The benefits include lost wages, medical expenses, and compensation to the victim’s dependents. For the federal employees suffering partial diseases and injuries, FECA will provide training and vocational rehabilitation.
The People Covered by the Federal Employment Compensation Act
If you’re a civil worker or official in any part of the government, including a worker or employee of an agency controlled by the US, the act will cover you. Also, special legislation offers VISTA volunteers coverage like grand jurors and federal petit, peace corps, volunteer members of the civil air patrol like training corps cadets, youth corps, job corps, and youth conservation enrollees. The employees who don’t fall under the categories have to call or contact their state workers' compensation board.
How Federal Employees Compensation Act Protect Federal Employees
The FECA ensures that federal employees aren’t left without any money after work-related injuries. The program mandates all the necessary medical supplies, care or treatment are catered for by the US workers compensation program under the US department of labor. Also, the federal employee's compensation act ensures you, as the injured employee, receive two-thirds of your wages from the injuries(more when you have sustained a traumatic injury). The benefits will also last longer for the disabled.
The Federal Employment Compensation Act protects federal employees by prioritizing their rehabilitation and medical care to ensure they return to work and earn their total wages. Again, you will choose a medical provider and stick with the assigned doctor.
If the injury has left you unable to engage in your main job, placement to a new position and vocational rehabilitation will also be available through OWCP. Under the federal employees' compensation act, if the patient can resume their primary job, the employer will be obligated to treat them as if they never left, about the length of employment time.
In rare cases, a federal worker may pass due to work-related injuries or an illness/disease relating to the federal work; their family members will obtain the benefits. The federal employees' compensation benefits are clear. However, you want to file a compensation claim well to ensure you obtain your deserved benefits. So, work with your lawyer to guide you throughout the process. Working by yourself might be challenging, and even you may receive limited benefits due to slight mistakes in the claim.
The Forms Used When Reporting Diseases and Injuries
The federal employees have to fill several forms depending on their injuries, occupational disease, and traumatic injury. For example, when filing under traumatic injury, they will have to fill form CA-1, a notice of traumatic claim and injury for the continuation of compensation/pay. Alternatively, when reporting an occupational claim and disease, they will fill in form CA-2.
The form CA-1 will be filed by the federal employee within one month of their injury, while form CA-2 will be filed within one month after they realize the illness or disease resulted from federal duty. As a federal employee, you will collect the forms from OWCP. Thus you will have to submit the filled form to the OWCP within two weeks.
The Difference Between Occupational Illness/Disease and Traumatic Injury
Whether your injury is considered occupational illness/disease, or a traumatic injury, it may affect your compensation benefits like continuation pay. Many people don’t differentiate occupational illness/disease from traumatic injury when seeking federal work injury compensation.
A traumatic injury involves a wound or any other situation in your body attracted by an external force like strain and stress. The damage should occur at a particular place or time and must affect specific parts of your body. Also, the injury should be caused by a specific incident or event within a work shift or a single day. Traumatic injury may include a federal worker falling from scaffolding while on work.
Alternatively, occupational illness or disease is caused by your working environment over a duration longer than a shift or one working day. The situation might occur due to infection, exposure to toxins, repeated strain or stress, or fumes in the work environment. An example of the condition is a stress injury due to repetitively typing on the same laptop for an extended period.
The exposure period will also determine whether the condition is occupational illness/disease or traumatic injury. For example, a federal employee exposed to a toxic environment is a traumatic injury. Again, when the worker is exposed to toxic substances for more than one day, the situation is termed as occupational illness or disease.
Medical Benefits
As a federal worker, you are entitled to hospital, surgical, and medical supplies and services required for your treatment and the costs you encounter as you travel to seek medication. You also have the choice to choose a well-trained local physician or even a hospital to provide you with the proper treatment. Again, the federal compensation laws allow you to use any agency medical facility if available. However, you will not have any chance to change the initial physician except when the initial physician refers you to an advanced medical expert. If you change the physician without the OWCP authority, you will be responsible for the treatment costs.
The term physician will cover a broad group of professionals, including osteopathic practitioners, surgeons, dentists, podiatrists, clinical psychologists, chiropractic tours, and optometrists within the scope of practice defined by federal law. Note, the payments for chiropractic will be limited to treatment which consists of manual manipulation of your spine to correct a subluxation as outlined by the x-ray. Again when the physician you selected has been excluded from engaging in the compensation plan, the OWCP office will advise you on choosing another physician.
Compensating Temporary Total Disability
Suppose you are a federal employee and obtain traumatic injuries related to the workplace. In that case, you will have to request regular pay for the disability period not exceeding 45 calendar days without annual or sick leave. However, when the disability continues beyond 45 days, you will not be entitled to receive payment. You may either use annual or sick leave for you to enter a leave without pay and claim your compensation from the OWCP.
If the disability results from an occupational disease, the law doesn’t allow the employing agency to continue paying the employee. Thus as the worker, you will have to enter a leave without pay to claim your compensation.
The compensation for the lost wages might not be paid until three days of waiting period except in cases where permanent effects result from your injuries or when the disability causing the lost wages exceeds 14 days.
The term dependant will include your wife, husband, and unmarried children under the age of 18 years. However, the unmarried child may also qualify as a dependent when they turn 18 years old and are incapable of supporting themselves because of physical or mental disability.
Compensation for Permanent Injuries
The law also outlines the permanent impairment to the victim's organs like the kidney, arm, severe disfigurement of your neck, face, head, and eyes. For instance, a patient's total vision loss in one eye will be awarded compensation for around 160 weeks. Also, compensating the lost earning capacity will be available when you cannot continue with your regular duties due to federal work injuries. The compensation will be provided based on your ability to earn wages after the accident and the money or wages you had before sustaining the injuries.
In various cases, OWCP will arrange for vocational rehabilitation programs and even provide a maintenance allowance of approximately $200 monthly. Again, a disabled worker engaging in OWCP approved vocational and training program will receive payments for the compensation rate for their total disability. However, when the workers' situation requires regular or constant attendance, an extra amount of up to $1500 will be allowed monthly.
Compensation for Federal Work-Related Deaths
If you are the victim of the federal work-related injury and there is no eligible child for the benefits, the widower or widow will receive a 50% of the worker's pay at the time of death. However, when the children are eligible for the benefits, the widower or widow will receive 45% of the payment. Every child will receive 15% of the amount at the time of death.
When the children are sole survivors, the court will pay 40% to the firstborn while the rest will receive a 15% each. Other people like the dependents or grandchildren and grandparents may be involved for the benefits. However, the total compensation will not exceed 75% of the victims' pay at the time of death except when the cost of living has gone high.
Compensation to a worker's surviving spouse will terminate upon their remarriage or death. A widower or widow benefits will continue even when the remarriage occurs after they turn 55 years old. The award to the brothers, sisters, grandchildren, and children will also terminate when they turn 18 years unless in situations where the dependent is incapable of providing self-support. Also, the benefit will continue to the children who turn 18 years. Still, they continue to be students at recognized institutions until they turn 23 years old or complete the four years of education after high school.
The compensation will also cover the burial expenses not exceeding $800. The transportation of the victim's body from their former residence is covered when the victim passes while working for the federal government outside America. Apart from the victim's body transportation costs, the government will also pay a $200 allowance for administration costs of terminating the worker’s status with the government.
What Happens When the Cost of Living Increases?
When the compensation payment for the death or disability occurs more than 12 months before the start of every year, the benefits will be increased by a percentage in the consumer price index.
Settlement of Federal Workers Compensation with a Third Party
The victim suffers a federal work injury or even death while on duty in various cases. The lawfully liable party may become a different party than the US government. Thus a portion of the federal compensation benefits provided by the OWCP will be refunded from the obtained settlement. Remember OWCP will assist you in obtaining your compensation. The act will even guarantee you retain a portion of the payment even in circumstances where the cost of compensation exceeds the settlement amount.
Appeal Rights
A survivor of an employee of the final ruling of OWCP may request a review or oral hearing from the agency of review and hearing. Written or oral review will support the provided evidence. As a federal worker, you may also request reconsideration by submitting a request to the office which issues the decision. You should also accompany the request with evidence. You may also request a review from the workers' compensation appeal board. The employees' compensation appeal board will rule separately.
In Case of Federal Injury
When you receive an injury, you want to obtain first aid or medical attention, even if the injury is minor. At times, minor injuries may heal without medical treatment. However, a few usually result in a severe and long-lasting disability. The disability could have been prevented if you had received the treatment immediately after the injury.
In cases of traumatic injuries, you want to ask your employer for authorization of the medical treatment on Form CA-16 before visiting the medical expert. When going to the doctor, take Form CA-16 along OWCP-1500. The doctor must use the form OWCP-1500 when submitting bills to OWCP. You must note that your employer may authorize medical treatment for occupational diseases only if OWCP issues prior approval.
You have to submit your bills immediately. Bills for medical treatment may not be compensated if submitted late to the OWCP. Late submission means submitting more than one year after the calendar year when the condition was accepted as compensable, or you obtained the medical treatment.
Report Every Injury
You want to report every injury to your supervisor. When you sustain a traumatic injury, you want to submit a written notice of your injury form CA_1. When the damage was an occupational disease, submit form CA-2. You must note that you may obtain CA_1 and CA-2 from OWCP or the employing agency.
When you receive a disabling traumatic brain injury, you want to fill form CA-1 within thirty days of the date of injury. It will help you receive continuation of pay. However, a continuation of pay may be terminated when you fail to submit medical evidence of the injury_related disability to your employer within ten workdays.
You are responsible for ensuring your medical evidence is presented to your employing body. Again, you want to fill form CA-2 within one month. Failure to submit your claims within three years, you will be barred by statutory time limitation unless the immediate superior knew the death or injury within thirty days of occurrence.
Establish the Essential Elements of Your Claim
You want to provide the evidence required to indicate you filed for benefits in time. The needed evidence includes that you are a city employee and the injury took place as reported and during the performance of your duties. Again, you want to show that your disability or condition is related to your injury or factors of your federal employment. The OWCP will assist you in meeting all the responsibilities by requesting the evidence required to fulfill your claim requirements.
Return to Work as Soon as Your Medical Expert Allows You to
At times your employing agencies may issue you with a written description of a light-duty job. You must provide a copy of the report to your doctor inquiring if and when you will perform the stated duties. When your agency provides light work, you must ask your doctor to issue your work restrictions. Again, you want to advise your employing agency on your doctor's specifications about your return to the job. You also want to provide written information to the agency.
When you fail to accept work within your medical restrictions, payment compensation is terminated. Again your COP may be terminated when you fail to respond within time to the job offer from your employing agency.
You have to note that OWCP, together with the employing agency, assists in arranging for your reassignment to lighter duties. Again, when injured, you have specified rights under the jurisdiction of the office personnel management, including reemployment rights if you overcome the disability within one year.
Establish the Key Elements of Your Claim
As per the law, you will have to present the required evidence to indicate you filed for the federal workers' compensation benefits. The filling should also be timely. Ensure you show you're a civil worker, the injury in question is work-related, and your disability or condition is related to factors or injuries of federal work/employment. OWCP will help you meet the above responsibilities, commonly known as the burden of proof, by asking you to provide the necessary evidence to meet the requirements of the claim.
File a Federal Workers Compensation Claim
Ensure you file a CA-7 form on account of occupational disease or traumatic injury if you can't resume your job because of a federal work-related injury. After filling the form, please submit it to the supervisor around ten days before ending the COP period in situations where you received COP. Alternatively, when you aren’t entitled to the COP, submit the form(CA-7) when you plan to enter a leave without pay. Support the wage losses claim with a federal work-related injury medical record.
When you lose pay and wish to look for compensation, you will have to submit a CA- form to your employer until you resume your work. As per the law, don’t use annual or sick leave before claiming your compensation. Once you decide to use the break, you may submit the form to OWCP through your employment agency.
Appealing a Denial of Benefits
When the OWCP denies you the claim, you may file an appeal at the federal workers' compensation appeal board. However, you will have to file your request within six months after the denial. After appealing the claim, a panel of competent judges will listen to your arguments and then issue a written notice. But before you appeal for the denial, you want to seek help from your federal worker's compensation attorney. The attorney will help you with persuasive arguments before the board. Thus the judges may grant you the benefits based on your arguments and evidence.
Find a Los Angeles Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Near Me
At times, you don’t need to work with an attorney to obtain the worker's compensation benefits under FECA. But, when your claim is complex, your injury is severe, or OWCP denies you the claim and wishes to appeal, you want to hire an experienced workers’ compensation attorney. At The Workers Compensation Lawyer Law Firm, we will guide you throughout the process and ensure you receive all the benefits you deserve. If you sustain work-related injuries in Los Angeles, CA, Call us at 424-501-9228 and speak with one of our competent attorneys.