John Mack, OWCP Officer
It's the law, under the provisions of the Postal Reorganization Act, 39 U.S.C. 1005 (c), all employees of the United States Postal Service (USPS) are covered by the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA), 5 U.S.C. 81. This can be found in the Employee and Labor Relations Manual 541.11 (ELM).
FECA is administered by the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP), the United States Department of Labor. OWCP determines whether the employee, or a survivor of the employee, is entitled to benefits under FECA. The director of OWCP and his or her designees have the exclusive authority to administer, interpret, and enforce the provisions of the Act. This means the Department of Labor (DOL) handles OWCP claims and issues.
FECA covers federal employees who are disabled from work, either partially or totally, resulting from a personal injury sustained while in the performance of his or her duty. A federal employee who is injured on duty may be entitled to workers compensation benefits. These benefits may include medical benefits and/or compensation payments.
Please call 215-824-4800 if you have any questions regarding Workers Compensation.
Fraternally,
Leo Zachwieja
OWCP Officer
(March 01, 2016)
I would like to start off with addressing a simple issue of what you should do if you are injured while on duty. This is called, Injured on Duty (IOD) and sometimes referred to as an on the job injury or work related injury.
1) Report the accident immediately to your supervisor or manager.
2) You choose the doctor that you want to treat your injury and seek medical attention if it is necessary or required.
3) File a CA-1 if you are hurt while on duty and it occurs in a single work shift at a specific time and place. (Claim for a Traumatic Injury).
4) File a CA-2 if you have an injury that was caused by the duties you performed for the United States Postal Service (USPS) or have a medical condition produced in the work environment and it occurred over a period of time longer than a single day or work shift. (Claim for an Occupational Disease).
5) You are required to supply medical documentation from your treating physician defining the injuries and any medical restrictions you might have. A medical narrative from your doctor would be great and will also help to get your claim approved.
6) Give the CA-1 or CA-2 and medical documentation to your supervisor or manager as soon as possible. Preferably the same day if possible.
7) Keep copies of everything! This means everything from the statements you write, too the forms you fill out and any forms management fills out, and all medical documentation that you supply to management or anyone else in the Postal Service. This also applies to all documentation, statements or forms you might send to the Office of Workers Compensation Program (OWCP) at the Department of Labor (DOL). Get a folder and place everything in it in date order.
By being a federal employee you are protected by the Federal Employees Compensation Act, which is also known as FECA.
This means that you may be entitled to compensation benefits if you are unable to work or have medical expenses due to a job related injury.
I will expand on some of the topics listed above in the future. Until then, please call me or anyone else at the Union Hall (215-824-4800) if you have any questions about what is written above or on any other Workers Compensation issues.