RESOURCES
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What Is FECA?
FECA is the Federal Employee Compensation Act, which is the law that governs your workers’ compensation claim with the OWCP.
What Is the Process?
The typical process in an OWCP case involves first filing a claim. Once your claim has been accepted, you can receive medical treatment and wage loss compensation for time you miss from work due to your accepted conditions. Your providers should bill medical care for your accepted conditions to your OWCP case. Ultimately, OWCP's goal is to get you back to work, and you may to be sent to an OWCP-directed Second Opinion Evaluation during this time. In some cases, you may also be eligible for a Schedule Award. Please note, this is a very broad overview and every case is different.
Who is Handling My Claim?
Your OWCP claim will be assigned to a Claims Examiner in one of the 12 District Offices across the United States. They are located in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Cleveland, Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas, and Washington, D.C.
What Benefits Do I Receive?
Benefits include both medical care and wage loss compensation. This includes doctor’s visits, medication, diagnostic testing, and procedures, as well as wage loss compensation for time you miss from work due to your accepted conditions. In addition, you can file requests for reimbursement for travel to medical appointments and out of pocket costs you may have incurred before or after your case was accepted. In some cases, you may also be eligible for a Schedule Award for permanent impairment to a scheduled member of the body.
How Long Do My Benefits Last?
There is no time limit on how long you can receive benefits on your OWCP case. If the medical evidence in your file establishes that you are still suffering from residuals from your work injury, you will remain eligible for medical benefits under your OWCP claim. Similarly, if the medical evidence in your file establishes that you are disabled from work as a result of your accepted work-related conditions, you will be eligible for wage loss compensation.
What Is a Schedule Award?
Once your doctor determines that you have reached Maximum Medical Improvement (i.e., when you reach a state where your condition cannot be improved any further or has essentially "plateaued") you may be eligible for a Schedule Award based on your accepted conditions. A Schedule Award is an award of compensation for a set number of weeks that is determined based on your payrate and the percentage of permanent impairment that you receive for your work injury. Please note, you cannot receive wage loss compensation and a Schedule Award at the same time!
OWCP FORMS
CA-1 – Notice of Traumatic Injury
CA-2 – Notice of Occupational Disease
CA-7 – Claim for Compensation
CA-7a – Time Analysis Form
CA-7b – Leave Buy Back Worksheet
OWCP-915 – Claim for Medical Reimbursement
OWCP-957 – Claim for Travel Refund Request
SF1199A – Direct Deposit Sign-Up Form
CA-17 – Duty Status Report
CA-20 – Attending Physician’s Report
*For more forms, you can visit the DOL-OWCP's website by clicking here.
USEFUL LINKS
For general information regarding your OWCP claim, you can visit DOL-OWCP's website by clicking here.
For more information regarding basic information on new claims, FAQs, accessing the Claimant Query System (CQS) to see information on case status and compensation, information on medical bill status, and more, you can click here to visit DOL-OWCP's website.
To find a provider near you who is enrolled to provide medical treatment for OWCP claims, you can click here. You will then click "Provider Search" on the left side of the page and select "FECA" for program.