Federal Employees' Compensation Act: Redefining Continuation of Pay Could Result in Additional Refunds to the Government
GGD-95-135
Published: Jun 08, 1995. Publicly Released: Jun 08, 1995.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed several issues relating to the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) and how it is administered by the Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| To preclude employees from, in effect, receiving double recoveries and to help reduce the costs to the federal government of employees' work-related injuries caused by third parties, Congress should amend FECA to expressly provide for refunds of amounts paid as COP when employees receive third-party recoveries. Subsection(e) of 5 U.S.C. 8118 could be amended to provide that COP shall not be considered compensation "except for the purpose of refunds to the United States from third-person recoveries pursuant to section 8132 of this title." In addition, section 8132 could be amended to provide that amounts refunded shall be credited to the Employees' Compensation Fund "except for continuation of pay under section 8118 of this title, which shall be credited to the employing agency that paid it." | This recommendation is more than 4 years old and congressional action has never been initiated. |
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Public Inquiries
Topics
CompensationCompensation claimsDisability benefitsDisability insuranceFederal employee disability programsFederal employeesFederal personnel lawPayroll systemsRefunds to governmentWorkers compensation