Injuries while performing work duties are common, and federal workers are not exempt. Because of this, the Office of Workers’ compensation Program passed an act called the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act aimed at taking care of the financial issues faced by federal workers after sustaining a work-related injury.
District offices located throughout the country are responsible for doling out FECA benefits under OWCP, and the United States Department of Labor. As a federal employee, you are entitled to schedule awards which may cover a number of things that we’ll take a look at shortly. That being said, not many workers know about these, and it’s not uncommon for unions to be uninformed or miseducated regarding benefits, which may actually see workers losing out on money that is justly owed to them by the government.
Here is a List of Some of the Most Common FECA benefits:
Medical Benefits
These are payments made out to help take care of any medical bills for procedures done to eliminate or alleviate injuries suffered on the job. According to the law, there’s no limit when it comes to the amount payable for your injuries neither time limit as long as you can prove that you still experience significant problems necessitating treatment for your injuries.
It is important to submit bills within 1 year of them being received, 1 year beyond the year that you incurred the expense or a year within which your claim was approved. If you submit your bills after any of these three time periods, they may not be paid. In addition, you may not receive payment for preventative treatment. Lastly, you may choose a government-appointed physician or opt to look for one who understands and has treated injured federal workers in the past.
Continuation of Pay (COP)
If you sustained injuries on the job, you may be able to collect compensation to reimburse you for the first 45 days that you were injured as you wait for the determination of your injury claim by OWCP. In order to qualify, you or someone close to you must fill in a form CA-1 within 30 days of your injury. Please note that COP isn’t really compensation and is subject to payroll deductions and taxes.
Attorneys for Injured Federal Workers – Call Us Now!
These are only some of the most basic benefits you can qualify for. Federal Workers’ Compensation is complicated as it is emotionally taxing. Your best bet when it comes to getting full compensation is to contact a federal workers’ compensation law firm such as ours so we can simplify the whole process for you. Please call us today on 1-877-561-3004 for more information. Thanks, and we look forward to hearing from you.
