House Hearing: Updating Federal Workers' Compensation and Interagency Coordination

Outdated Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA)

• 🕰️ The current FECA schedule awards framework for body part impairment has not been substantially changed since 1966.
• 🩺 Contemporary medical impairment guides, like the AMA's, are updated annually, while the VA has updated its disability rating system hundreds of times since 2017.
• 🏛️ Congress must amend the law to update the FECA schedule, as changes cannot be made through rulemaking.
• 💡 Allowing changes through rulemaking, similar to the VA system, could increase flexibility.

Interagency Communication and Coordination in FECA

• 🤝 The Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) works with federal agencies to process claims and return employees to work.
• ⚠️ While OWCP has implemented protocols since 2017 to facilitate communication with investigating agencies, improvements are still needed.
• 📉 OWCP faces resource constraints, with claim examiners responsible for over 500 claims, far exceeding the industry average of 120-200.

Cost Containment in Postal Workers' Compensation

• 📊 A 2023 report found the cost per work hour for postal workers' compensation is 31-41% higher than in private industry.
• 💰 The USPS could have saved nearly $693 million in two years by using private sector cost containment tools.
• ⚖️ Congress should authorize the USPS to adopt mechanisms such as limitations on dollar amounts and duration of benefits, buyouts and settlements, and the use of employer-selected physicians.