Federal Workers' Compensation in Washington DC, Maryland & Virginia: Doctors, Benefits and the Claims Process for Injured Federal Workers

Federal workers' compensation is the benefits program for federal civilian employees injured on the job or who develop an occupational disease from federal employment. It is established by the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) and administered by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP), Division of Federal Employees' Compensation. It provides medical care, Continuation of Pay, wage-loss compensation, schedule awards for permanent impairment, vocational rehabilitation and survivor benefits. It is separate from — and replaces — state workers' compensation for federal employees.

All civilian employees of the United States government, including U.S. Postal Service employees, are covered by FECA regardless of the agency they work for or how long they have been employed. Coverage also extends to certain other groups such as Peace Corps and Job Corps participants. Active-duty military members are not covered by FECA (they have separate systems), and most federal contractors are covered by their employer's state workers' compensation or the Defense Base Act rather than FECA. District of Columbia government employees are covered by DC's own program, not FECA.

Federal workers' compensation is a single national program administered by OWCP under FECA. State workers' compensation in Maryland, Virginia and DC is administered by each jurisdiction's commission and funded through employer insurance. The differences matter: FECA has its own forms (CA-1, CA-2, CA-7, CA-16, CA-17, CA-20), its own provider enrollment, its own physician-choice rules, Continuation of Pay for the first 45 days, compensation at 66⅔% or 75% of pay with no dollar cap tied to a state average wage, and a schedule award system for permanent impairment. There are no lawsuits against the government for a covered injury and no state commission hearings; disputes go through OWCP reconsideration, a hearing with OWCP's Branch of Hearings and Review, or appeal to the Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB).

Medical treatment for the accepted condition with no copays or deductibles; Continuation of Pay (your regular salary from your agency for up to 45 calendar days after a traumatic injury); wage-loss compensation from OWCP at 66⅔% of your pay rate, or 75% if you have at least one eligible dependent, tax-free; a schedule award — a fixed number of weeks of compensation for permanent impairment of a limb, hand, foot, eye or hearing; vocational rehabilitation if you cannot return to your job; and death benefits for survivors. Compensation for wage loss continues as long as the disability continues and is supported by medical evidence.

A schedule award compensates a federal employee for permanent loss, or loss of use, of certain body parts after reaching maximum medical improvement (MMI). FECA assigns a fixed number of weeks to each member — for example 312 weeks for an arm, 288 for a leg, 244 for a hand, 205 for a foot and 160 for an eye — and a physician rates the percentage of impairment using the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. A 10% impairment of an arm, for instance, is 31.2 weeks of compensation. The award is paid at the 66⅔% or 75% compensation rate and is payable even if you have returned to full duty. The spine is not a scheduled member, but impairment of the arms or legs caused by a spinal injury can be rated. Your treating physician's impairment rating is the starting point; OWCP may obtain a second-opinion rating.

No. Under FECA you have the right to choose your own treating physician. Your agency may send you to an agency health unit or a designated physician for initial examination, but you are then free to select any qualified physician for treatment. Once selected, changing physicians later generally requires OWCP's prior approval, so choose an OWCP-enrolled doctor experienced with federal claims from the start.

Report it to your supervisor immediately and file the CA-1 (traumatic injury) or CA-2 (occupational disease) as soon as possible. A CA-1 must be filed within 30 days to be eligible for Continuation of Pay. The statutory deadline for any FECA claim is three years from the date of injury, or for occupational disease, from the date you became aware — or reasonably should have become aware — that the condition was related to your federal employment. Timely written notice to a supervisor can preserve a claim even when the form is filed later.

OWCP requires five elements for any claim: that it was filed on time, that you are a covered federal employee, that the incident or exposure occurred as described (fact of injury), that it occurred in the performance of duty, and — most often the deciding element — medical evidence establishing a diagnosed condition causally related to the work incident. That medical evidence must come from a physician and should include the history, examination findings, a specific diagnosis and a rationalized opinion explaining how the work activity caused or aggravated the condition. Weak or missing medical rationale is the most common reason federal claims are denied.

OWCP may schedule you for a second-opinion examination with a physician of its choosing to evaluate your condition, work capacity or impairment. If that physician's opinion conflicts with your treating physician's, OWCP may schedule a referee (impartial) examination to resolve the conflict, and the referee's opinion is usually given special weight. You must attend these examinations. The best protection is a treating physician whose reports are thorough, objective and well-reasoned — which is exactly what Federal Injury Centers' physician-authored documentation is designed to provide.

Yes. Conditions caused by repetitive work activity or cumulative exposure over more than one shift are occupational diseases under FECA and are filed on Form CA-2. Common examples for federal and postal employees include carpal tunnel syndrome, rotator cuff tendinopathy, lateral epicondylitis, plantar fasciitis, degenerative disc conditions aggravated by repetitive lifting, and hearing loss. These claims depend heavily on a detailed description of your job duties and a physician's rationalized opinion connecting those duties to the diagnosis.

Federal Injury Centers treats injured federal and postal employees at nine clinics: Alexandria VA, Baltimore MD, Fairfax (Merrifield) VA, Frederick MD, Greenbelt MD, Laurel MD, Rockville MD, Silver Spring MD and Temple Hills MD. All providers are OWCP-enrolled, physician forms are completed at your visit, and OWCP is billed directly. Call (240) 863-2822 for any location.