Filing a CA-1 for a Traumatic Injury

A traumatic injury is defined as:

“A wound or other condition of the body caused by external force, including stress or strain, which is identifiable as to the time and place of occurrence and member or function of the body affected. The injury must be caused by a specific event or incident or series of events or incidents within a single work day or work shift.”

The key to this definition is that an event or events must have occurred during a single workday or work shift.

Step 1: Notifying your supervisor

Immediately notify your supervisor and request:

Form CA-1, Federal Employee's Notice of Traumatic Injury and Claim for Continuation of Pay/Compensation (must be supplied immediately)

Form CA-16, Authorization for Examination and/or Treatment (must be supplied by your manager within 4 hours)

Form CA-17, Duty Status Report (must be supplied immediately)

Forms CA-1 and CA-17 are available at the Department of Labor website.

Step 2: The CA-1

Request a CA-1 from your supervisor. The Postal Service is required to provide you the form upon request, which is available on your supervisor’s computer. If you are refused a form, contact your shop steward immediately. You can print your own CA-1 here. 

Complete the employee portion of the CA-1, do not let a supervisor fill it out for you. Be thorough in describing the cause and nature of the injury. If you cannot describe the cause and nature in the space provided, write them down on a separate piece of paper, placing your name, address, phone number and Employee ID number at the top of the page. Sign and date the extra page and make a copy.

At the bottom of the CA-1, question number 15 allows you to choose between Continuation of Pay (COP), or Sick and/or Annual leave. To qualify for COP you must:

1.   File your claim within 30 days of the date of injury

2.   Begin losing time within 45 days of the date of injury and,

3.   Provide medical evidence of your disability, signed by a doctor, within 10 days.

If you elect COP you will be paid your regular pay for 45 calendar days. The first three work days of COP are waiting days and you must use either sick and/or annual. After the waiting days you will continue to get paid every two weeks as if you were working.

Once you have reviewed and signed your CA-1, physically hand the completed CA-1 to your supervisor.  Do not leave it on your supervisor’s desk or inbox. The supervisor’s instructions for the CA-1 requires them to give you the signed receipt on (page 4) immediately. The CA-1 receipt establishes a record of your injury and the date you filed your claim. If the supervisor does not give you the receipt, ask for your shop steward.

Make a copy of the of the CA-1 page you filled out. You should also request a copy of the completed CA-1 once management has filled out their portion. The Postal Service is required to give the completed CA-1 to you. The Postal Service has 10 working days to submit the CA-1 to the Office of Worker’s Compensation Programs, (OWCP).

Step 3: Seeking medical treatment

You have the right to seek treatment from your own doctor. If the Postal Service insists that you go to their doctor, you have to be seen by them but you do not have to be treated by them. Injured workers should always choose the doctor that treats them. Medical reports must be signed by a doctor. If you are examined by a physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner, ask them to have a doctor review and counter-sign the report.

Request a CA-16.  The Postal Service is required by law to provide the CA-16 within four hours of your request. If for any reason your supervisor refuses to give you a CA-16, contact your shop steward and call the OSHA Whistleblowers hotline at 1-800-321-6742 to report it.

You can use the CA-16 to see the doctor of your choice. If your doctor refers you to a specialist, the CA-16 will also cover those expenses. Review the CA-16 to make sure your supervisor properly fills out sections 8 – 11 including a signature. Section 12 of the CA-16 should contain OWCP’s address:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
DFEC CENTRAL MAILROOM
P.O. BOX 8300
LONDON, KY 40742-8300 

You also need to request a CA-17 Duty Status Report from your supervisor. The Postal Service is responsible for filling out the job requirements on the left (side A) of the CA-17. Your doctor fills out the right (side B) of the CA-17, listing any medical restrictions. Once your doctor has completed the CA-17, make a copy of the completed CA-17 and give one copy to your supervisor.

The CA-17 normally provides enough medical evidence for the Postal Service to make you a job offer and entitle you to COP.

The Postal Service has 10 business days to send your CA-1 claim to OWCP. OWCP will send you a notification including your claim number within a month. If you do not receive a notice from OWCP that your claim has been received, contact your shop steward or National Business Agent’s office.

Note: Your medical records are protected by the Privacy Act. With the exception of the CA-17, the Postal Service is not entitled to your personal medical records.

Step 4: Once your claim has been filed

OWCP's goal is to return each disabled employee to work as soon as he or she is medically able. Thoroughly explain your work duties to your doctor. Delivering mail is physically demanding work, and returning to work before you have properly healed can lead to debilitating, life-long injuries.

Take a CA-17 to every medical appointment and provide a copy of the completed form to your supervisor. The Postal Service has an obligation to offer you work within your restrictions and the completed CA-17 must be provided to the Postal Service to determine if there is work available within your restrictions.

Never refuse a job offer. Refusing a job offer can lead to termination of your benefits. If the Postal Service offers you work and compels you to either accept or refuse a job offer, always accept the job offer.

If you are uncertain if you can perform all of the duties of the job, write “under protest” next to your signature. You have the right to take the job offer to your doctor. If your doctor believes the job offer exceeds your limitations, he or she must write a medical narrative listing the specific duties you cannot perform.

Your doctor should send medical reports directly to OWCP.  You can also upload medical reports into your claim file via ECOMP. Your medical reports are protected by the Privacy Act and should be sent directly to OWCP, not the Postal Service. 

The Postal Service is prohibited from calling your doctor. Any contact with your doctor must be in writing, and the Postal Service is required to send you a copy of the letter, and your doctor’s response.

Step 5: Once you have filed your claim, OWCP has three options:

1. Request more information

OWCP will notify you if your case lacks enough information to make a decision in your case. They will send you a development letter requesting more information listing a series of questions for both you and your doctor to answer. These letters always give you exactly 30 days from the date on the letter to respond.

It is important that you act quickly to get the questions answered within the 30-day time limit. Make an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible. Bring the OWCP letter to your appointment and ask your doctor to thoroughly answer the questions. OWCP must receive the information within the 30 days, a postmark is insufficient. Make sure your doctor understands the urgency. Use ECOMP to upload your documents directly to your file.

Never submit documents without first making copies for your own records. You need to organize your records to be ready to respond to OWCP. If you have problems with your claim, contact a branch officer or your National Business Agent’s office for help.

2. Accept the Claim

OWCP will send you a letter accepting your claim, listing the accepted conditions and a “Now That Your Claim Has Been Accepted” attachment that includes tools for managing your claim. Read the attachment carefully and keep it handy as it has important information you can reference regarding your claim.

If you are on COP and it appears you will not return to work after 45 days, the Postal Service is required to provide you with form CA-7 to request wage-loss compensation after 30 days. The CA-7 comes with instructions on how to properly fill it out and submit it.

If you do not receive a CA-7 from the Postal Service, request one from your supervisor or print one here. Submit the completed CA-7 every two weeks to your supervisor or district Health Resource Management, HRM office. Send a written request for a copy of the completed CA-7, including management’s portion every time you submit it to HRM.

The Postal Service has five working days to complete their portion of the CA-7 and send it to OWCP.  Keep a copy of every CA-7 for your file.

OWCP's goal is to return each disabled employee to work as soon as he or she is medically able. Thoroughly explain your work duties to your doctor. Delivering mail is physically demanding work, and returning to work before you have properly healed can lead to debilitating, life-long injuries. Take a CA-17 to every medical appointment and provide a copy of the completed form to your supervisor.

The Postal Service has an obligation to offer you work within your restrictions and the completed CA-17 must be provided to the Postal Service to determine if there is work available within your restrictions.

Never refuse a job offer. Refusing a job offer can lead to termination of your benefits. If the Postal Service offers you work and compels you to either accept or refuse a job offer, always accept the job offer.

If you are uncertain if you can perform all of the duties of the job, write “under protest” next to your signature, and contact your shop steward. You have the right to take the job offer to your doctor. If your doctor believes the job offer exceeds your limitations, he or she must write a medical narrative listing the specific duties you cannot perform.

Your doctor should send the reports directly to OWCP, and you can upload them into your claim file via ECOMP. Your medical reports are protected by the Privacy Act and should be sent directly to OWCP, not the Postal Service. 

The Postal Service is prohibited from calling your doctor. Any contact with your doctor must be in writing, and the Postal Service is required to send you a copy of the letter, and your doctor’s response.

3. Deny the Claim

If OWCP denies your claim, they will normally list the basis for the decision. Along with the denial, OWCP will give you a list of your appeal rights. Each venue has specific time limits that are absolute. In order to successfully appeal a denial, you must address OWCP’s reasons for the denial. It often involves further medical documentation and new medical opinions from your doctor or a specialist.

Contact a branch officer or National Business Agent’s office for help in choosing the proper venue for appeal.

Filing a CA-2 for an occupational disease

Occupational diseases are defined as injuries that occur over a period longer than one day or one work shift. To file a claim for an occupational disease, letter carriers need to fill out a CA-2 and provide a description of their work duties along with a medical narrative from a doctor that makes a causal connection between specific work factors and your diagnosed condition(s).

Step 1: Employee narrative

Prior to filing the CA-2, you need to explain your day-to-day duties as a letter carrier to your doctor. A written explanation of your job duties as a letter carrier provides your doctor with the information to write a medical opinion connecting specific work factors to your diagnosed conditions. Most doctors are very busy, so you need to keep your explanation to one page. 

Describe an average day on your route. Mail volume and deliveries fluctuate every day so avoid exact numbers. Describe how long you sort and deliver mail. Estimate mail volumes, weights, distances and repetitions. Never exaggerate. Use action words that describe your work factors like walking, carrying, reaching, pushing, pulling etc.

To fully explain the range of letter carrier duties you can provide your doctor with the appropriate copies of/or the link to these Letter Carrier Duties photos and explanations.

Step 2: The doctor’s narrative

Once you have your job description completed, take a copy of it to your doctor.

OWCP requires a “rationalized” medical narrative that describes the causal relationship between specific work factors and the diagnosed injury. A rationalized narrative is one based on objective medical evidence such as tests, x-rays, or MRIs that describes the physiological mechanism by which specific work factors caused, aggravated or accelerated the diagnosed condition.

Your doctor must state his or her opinion with “reasonable medical certainty.” Reasonable medical certainty is a bureaucratic term required by OWCP.

The medical opinion of a board-certified specialist with expertise in your particular injury will have more weight with OWCP than a general practitioner.  You can research doctors online or ask your general practitioner for a referral.

Step 3: Submitting the CA-2

Once you have the medical narrative describing the causal relationship between your work and your medical condition, ask your supervisor for a CA-2, Notice of Occupational Disease and a CA-17, Duty Status Report, or print on here. 

As you fill out the CA-2, you will come to question 11; Date you first became aware of the disease or illness.  Answer question 11 as best as you can, OWCP needs to have a rough idea of when you had an initial diagnosis. Question 12 asks the date you first realized the disease or illness was caused or aggravated by your employment. The date your doctor signs his or her medical report will be the date you enter in question 12.

You should file the CA-2 as soon as possible, preferably within the 30 days from the date listed in question 12. However, the CA-2 will meet the statutory time requirement if filed no later than 3 years after the date of your last exposure to the work factors that caused the injury.

Complete your portion of the CA-2, make a copy of it and hand the original along with your narrative to your supervisor, do not place it on their desk or in their inbox. The supervisor’s instructions for the CA-2 requires them to give you the signed receipt on (page 4) immediately. Request a copy of the completed CA-2 for your file.

The Postal Service is required to send your CA-2 to OWCP within 10 working days of receiving it from you. If OWCP has not received your CA-2 after 10 working days, contact your shop steward or National Business Agent’s office.

Once OWCP gets your CA-2 they will assign you a claim number and send you a letter. If you do not receive a letter from OWCP, call your OWCP district office and ask for your file number.

Medical reports should be sent directly to OWCP, not the Postal Service.  Once you have the file number, you can mail the medical information – test results, medical narratives etc. directly to:

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs
PO Box 8300
London, KY 40742 

A better way is to directly upload the documents via OWCP’s web portal, ECOMP. Go to: https://www.ecomp.dol.gov/#. On the right side of the page, under Need to Upload a Document, click on the green Access Case and Upload Document icon. Follow the instructions on the next page and record the DCN number once your files have been uploaded. Uploading your information is faster and more reliable than mailing.

When communicating with OWCP, it is essential to have your file number on every page, usually at the very top. Documents mailed to the London, Kentucky address get scanned; a page without a file number may never get into your claim file. 

The Postal Service has an obligation to make every effort to find you work within your limitations. Request a copy of form CA-17, Duty Status Report from your supervisor. The Postal Service is responsible for filling out the job requirements on the left (side A) of the CA-17. Your doctor fills out the right (side B) of the CA-17, listing any medical restrictions. When your doctor has completed and signed part B, take a copy of the completed CA-17 and give one copy to your supervisor.

The CA-2a Claim for Recurrence

Injured letter carriers should only file a recurrence if the Postal Service has withdrawn their limited duty job.

Never file a CA2a unless your limited-duty job has been withdrawn or OWCP tells you to file a CA-2a in writing. Always talk to your branch OWCP specialist or National Business Agent’s before filing a CA-2a.

Management often gives injured letter carriers a CA2a in error. If you have returned to work and re-injure the same body part, you need to file a CA-1 or CA-2. Doctors have a different definition of recurrence than does OWCP. If you are not sure if you should file a CA2a, call your National Business Agent’s office.

OWCP appeals

If your initial claim has been formally denied by OWCP, your denial letter should include one of three options for appealing the decision. The three options are:

•Hearings and Review for either an oral hearing or a review of the written record; must be postmarked within 30 days

•Reconsideration: Must be received 1 year from the date of the last merit decision

•Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB): Must be received within 180 days from the last decision

You can only request one form of appeal at a time. You must view each option for appeal based upon what you can tactically accomplish. The three avenues should not be viewed as hierarchical, and the decision to appeal an adverse decision must be viewed as a strategic one.

You should always consult your branch OWCP specialist or your National Business Agent’s office prior to selecting an appeal route. As appeals to Hearings and Review must be done within 30 days of the formal decision, you should contact immediately upon receipt of the decision.

Schedule Awards

Schedule Awards

The Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA), provides for schedule awards for an injured worker who suffers a permanent impairment to a body part covered by the Act. Permanent impairment is defined as the permanent loss, or loss of use of, a part of the body, whether partial or total.

Schedule awards are payable when an injured employee has suffered a permanent impairment to a part or function of the body that is listed in the schedule of body functions and members found in the FECA at 5 USC 8107.

Injured workers interested in pursuing a schedule award should ask their physician if he or she does evaluations of permanent impairment using the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, Sixth Edition. Ratings made in accordance with earlier editions of the Guides will not be accepted by OWCP.

If your physician does such evaluations, ask him or her to schedule an exam to do the evaluation after you have reached maximum medical improvement (MMI).  If your physician does not do such evaluations, ask him or her to refer you to a physician who does.

OWCP recently revised some procedures for evaluating impairment ratings. Provide your doctor with a copy of the Impairment Rating Fact Sheet, which clarifies those revisions.

Requirements

Impairment ratings must:

1. State the date you reached maximum medical improvement,
2. Describe the impairment, and
3. Give a percentage evaluation of the impairment in terms of the affected body part, not the body as a whole.
4. Include a data collection form or summary form from the relevant chapter of the Guides that identifies the specific features to consider for each category for organ system impairment, it must be used to document the data and be attached with the final report.

The percentage evaluation must be based on charts and tables found in the AMA Guides, and the medical report must include references to the applicable charts and tables.  Your physician must explain in the report how he or she determined the percentage impairment by specific reference to the charts and tables in the AMA Guides that were used to make the determination.

Submitting the Schedule Award Request

When you receive the medical report, send it to OWCP with a cover letter requesting a schedule award.  Active letter carriers must complete the employee portion of the CA-7, check "schedule award," and submit it to the Postal Service.  Request a completed copy of the CA-7 from the Postal Service. The Postal Service has 5 working days to submit the CA-7 to OWCP.

If you are retired and applying for a schedule award, federal regulations allow an application to be submitted with a cover letter requesting the schedule award as long as there was a previous CA-7 filed.

Schedule awards are payable concurrent with wages or retirement benefits.

Schedule awards are generally not payable concurrent with OWCP wage-loss compensation benefits.  However, if an employee has a job-related injury that causes impairment in one body part (that entitles him or her to a schedule award) and at the same time has a different job related injury to a different body-part that is disabling, both wage-loss compensation and a schedule award may be paid concurrently.

Schedule awards paid by OWCP do not constitute a settlement or final payout.

Receiving a schedule award does not end the right to continue receiving other OWCP benefits, such as payment for medical bills, reimbursement of transportation expenses for travel to medical appointments, wage-loss compensation benefits, etc.

Schedule Awards and Social Security Disability

There is also an important, and dangerous, limitation that arises when employees are entitled to Social Security disability benefits.  Employees covered under the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS) are required to apply for Social Security disability benefits in order to obtain FERS disability retirement.  Social Security regulations provide for dollar-for-dollar offset of Social Security disability benefits if an employee receives workers’ compensation disability benefits.

Social Security considers OWCP Schedule Awards as disability benefits, and will deduct the full amount from any Social Security disability benefits due. Moreover, Social Security will report the full amount of the deduction to the IRS as taxable income, even though it never was paid to the injured worker.

As a result, NALC members covered by FERS who may be entitled to a schedule award and concurrently entitled to disability retirement should seek advice from their branch OWCP specialist or National Business Agent’s office.

Schedule awards and VA disability ratings

Under FECA, an injured letter carrier whose claim is accepted is entitled to medical benefits and wage loss compensation. For letter carriers with DVA disability ratings, applying for some FECA benefits may require an election between the DVA benefits and FECA benefits.

An injured worker with a DVA disability rating for the same injury will often receive more from an increase of their DVA disability rating than from a schedule award. Injured workers with DVA disability ratings should contact their National Business Agent’s office for guidance.

Method of Payment

Schedule awards are paid for a certain number of weeks, calculated by multiplying the percentage of impairment of a body part (determined by the rating physician) times the number of weeks set out in the schedule in the FECA for that body part.  Each week of the schedule award is paid at the employee’s compensation rate, which is weekly salary times 2/3 or 3/4, depending on whether the employee is single with no dependents (2/3) or married or otherwise has one or more dependents (3/4).

5 USC 8107 provides for compensation to the following list of scheduled members:

Member	Weeks
Arm	312
Leg	288
Hand	244
Foot	205
Eye	160
Thumb	75
First Finger Lost	46
Great Toe	38
Second Finger	30
Third finger	25
Toe other than great toe	16
Fourth Finger	15
Hearing, one ear	52
Hearing, both ears	200

Pursuant to the authority provided by 5 U.S.C. 8107(c)(22), the Secretary of Labor added the following organs to the compensation schedule for injuries that were sustained on or after September 7, 1974, except that a schedule award for the skin may be paid for injuries on or after September 11, 2001:

Member	Weeks
Breast (one)	52
Kidney (one)	156
Larynx	160
Lung (one)	156
Penis	205
Testicle (one)	52
Tongue	160
Ovary (one)	52
Uterus/cervix and vulva/vagina	205
Skin	205

Tools for managing your OWCP claim

OWCP Forms

Form CA-1

Form CA-2

Form CA-7

Form CA-17

The Claimant Query System

The Claimant Query System (CQS) allows injured workers access to claim submission information and bill payment history. You must be the injured worker and have an existing OWCP Case File Number to access FECA's CQS. If you are not the injured worker/claimant you will not be granted access.

To access CQS claimants must register through OWCP Connect here:

https://owcpconnect.dol.gov/owcplogin/RegPIInputServlet

OWCP Connect allows users to prove their identity and create an account for communication with OWCP's various self-service applications. It is a centralized identity-proofing system used to create credentials for a user, and then to authenticate the credentials for login.

Identity proofing is accomplished by validating the user's information entered in the Account Registration process against secure Credit Bureau data. Once the user's identity has been verified, their account can be created.

Once you are registered in CQS you can access Compensation Tracking to see when OWCP receives CA-7’s, and track payments for wage-loss compensation.

ECOMP

ECOMP is OWCP’s electronic document filing portal for injured workers. This is the fastest way for you to upload documents and medical information directly to your file.

Uploading documents

To access the system, log on to https://www.ecomp.dol.gov/

The left side of the page asks “Have you been hurt on the job?” Just below that is “Need to upload a document?”

Click on the blue Upload Documents icon.

The Upload Documents to Case page will open, asking for the case number, last name of the claimant, date of birth and date of injury. Once that information has been entered, follow the instructions to choose the document you want to upload.

You must scan a document to your computer before uploading it. If you are requesting information from OWCP or are providing requested information, be sure the document is signed and dated. There is a ten-page limit for each ECOMP upload. Use multiple uploads for longer files.

You will get a document control number (DCN) for every uploaded document. Either print the screen or record the DCN numbers for your file. The DCN numbers may be used to verify dates of submission for important documents, appeals etc.

You will find that once you are comfortable using ECOMP, you have the ability to add medical updates and answer OWCP requests in a fraction of the time it takes to print and mail them.

OWCP time limits are absolute, and OWCP normally gives a claimant 30 days to respond to a request. Thirty days go by quickly, and ECOMP can give you extra time to get necessary medical reports from your doctor.

Registering with ECOMP

There are currently five postal districts that can register and file claims in the ECOMP program: Dallas, Greensboro, Northern Virginia and the DC metro Postal Districts. The Postal Service is in the process of allowing all injured employees to register and file claims using ECOMP.

Prior to registering with ECOMP you should click on HELP on the upper right corner of the page. A drop-down menu has a User Guide for Injured Workers. There are step-by-step instructions and instructional videos on registering in ECOMP and filing claim forms.

Take the time to read the written description or watch the video.

When registering in ECOMP you will be asked what Government Organization you work for. Be sure to scroll down and choose the United States Postal Service. 

Once you have registered, you can sign in and file a claim. The website refers to filing an OSHA 301 report, as a postal employee you do not need to file an OSHA 301 report prior to filing a claim. When filing a CA-1 or CA-2 be sure to choose the United States Postal Service as your employing agency. A drop-down menu will ask you what state you are from. Choose the Postal District you work in.

Filing claims via ECOMP has advantages over filing a regular paper claim with your supervisor. Unlike the paper form, which has a limited space for describing the cause of the injury, ECOMP allows the injured worker to write a detailed statement describing the cause of the injury; what happened and why.

When you file a claim using ECOMP, OWCP sends a copy of the claim to your supervisor and the USPS Health Resource Management (HRM) office. The postal service then has ten working days to complete their portions of the form and submit it to OWCP.

Requesting your claim file

Once you have filed your claim and been assigned a claim number, OWCP will build a digital file containing all documents they have received related to your claim. The only way to access your entire file is to write to OWCP and request a copy of your file. OWCP will send you a CD containing everything in your file up to the date they copy the file. If you upload the request on ECOMP, you can usually get your file within one month.

You will want to request your file after there has been a decision in your case. Having a copy of the claim file is essential for appealing a denial and managing an accepted case.

There are two other ways to access your OWCP case information online.

Conduent bill pay portal

OWCP has a useful, Internet-based system that allows injured workers access to real-time bill pay information. To gain entry for a particular claim, three items of information are needed: claim number, date of injury and date of birth.

Here is how to access a claim through the portal:

1. Go to http://owcpmed.dol.gov
2. Click on the FECA Claimant icon.
3. Click Accept.
4. Enter your OWCP case number, date of injury and date of birth.
5. Click Submit. You will now be in the Bill Status Inquiry screen. You will see at the upper left-hand side of the screen that there are three available inquiries: Eligibility, Bill Status and Medical Authorization. Remain in the Bill Status Inquiry screen.
6. Click View Option: Resolved Bills and enter date range of desired view of bills. To view all bills, leave the date range fields blank.
   You can view all of the bills submitted and whether they have been paid or denied.

Help with Billing Issues

OWCP’s bill payment system is handled by Conduent, a private contractor who processes bills and medical authorization requests. In most cases, claimants or their doctors can call Conduent at 844-493-1966 and get billing problems solved.

Once a doctor registers with Conduent, they are prohibited from requesting reimbursement from the injured worker. Doctors, hospitals and collection agencies seeking payment should be referred to Conduent.

CCAs and on-the-job injuries

The NALC is committed to ensuring that every injured letter carrier receives his or her rights when injured on the job. As a CCA, you are protected under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA), which provides benefits for federal employees who are injured on duty. The Postal Service has no obligation to inform you about your rights under FECA until after a job-related injury.

The Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) administers the FECA and has sole authority to award benefits. The FECA provides the right to medical care and wage-loss compensation for accepted injuries.

In some offices, there is an unfortunate but pervasive sentiment that probationary employees should never report on-the-job injuries because it will lead to immediate separation without recourse.

While it is true that employees in a probationary period of 90 or 120 days have no standing to file grievances protesting separations, employees who are intimidated, discouraged, denied, or separated after reporting an on-the-job injury have the right to file an Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) Whistleblower complaint within 30 days.

The easiest way to file a complaint is by calling the OSHA hotline at 800-321-6742. An OSHA representative will document your contact information and a trained investigator will contact you to file your complaint.

You also may file a complaint online by going to:

https://www.osha.gov/ whistleblower/WBComplaint.html.

CCAs should not feel intimidated in exercising their rights when injured on the job. Report any injury immediately to your supervisor and demand a CA-1 and CA-16 if you need medical attention. If you do not get help, call your shop steward, branch or National Business Agent’s office immediately. 

Useful links

• An OSHA Whistleblowers complaint can also be filed online by going to this website: www.osha.gov/whistleblower/WBComplaint.html
• Employer Safety Incentive and Disincentive Policies and Practices download. 

OWCP District Offices

District Office 1 - Boston CT, ME, MA, NH, RI and VT Mark Foley, District Director (857) 264-4600 U.S. Dept. of Labor, OWCP JFK Federal Building, Room E-260 Boston, MA 02203 Fax: (857) 264-4602 District Office 2 - New York NJ, NY, PR and VI Rholanda Basnight, District Director (212) 863-0800 U.S. Dept. of Labor, OWCP 201 Varick Street, Room 740 New York, NY 10014 Fax: (212) 863-0801 District Office 3 - Philadelphia DE, PA and WV, plus MD when claimant's residence has a ZIP Code beginning with 21xxx Angelo Randazzo, District Director (Acting) (267) 687-4160 U.S. Dept. of Labor, OWCP Curtis Center, Suite 715 East 170 S. Independence Mall West Philadelphia, PA 19106-3308 Fax: (267) 687-4155 District Office 6 - Jacksonville AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC and TN Tisha Carter, District Director (904) 366-0100 U.S. Dept. of Labor, OWCP Charles E. Bennett Federal Building 400 West Bay Street, Room 826 Jacksonville, FL 32202 Fax: (904) 366-0101 District Office 9 - Cleveland IN, MI, OH; All special claims and all areas outside the U.S., its possessions, territories and trust territories Lana Betton, District Director (216) 902-5600 U.S. Dept. of Labor, OWCP 1240 East Ninth Street, Room 851 Cleveland, OH 44199 Fax: (216) 902-5601 District Office 10 - Chicago IL, MN, WI James Polcyn, District Director (312) 789-2800 U.S. Dept. of Labor, OWCP 230 South Dearborn Street, Eighth Floor Chicago, IL 60604 Fax: (312) 789-2801

District Office 11 - Kansas City AR, IA, KS, MO and NE Jack Mercer, District Director (816) 268-3040 U.S. Dept. of Labor, OWCP Two Pershing Square Building 2300 Main Street, Suite 1090 Kansas City, MO 64108-2416 General Fax: (816) 268-3041 District Office 12 - Denver CO, MT, NM, ND, SD, UT and WY Nigel Strozier, District Director (303) 202-2500 U.S. Dept. of Labor, OWCP P.O. Box 25602 One Denver Federal Center, Bldg 53 Denver, CO 80225-0602 Fax: (303) 202-2501 District Office 13 - San Francisco AZ, CA, HI and NV Susan Pearlman, District Director (415) 241-3300 U.S. Dept. of Labor, OWCP 90 Seventh St., Suite 15-100F San Francisco, CA 94103 Fax: (415) 241-3301 District Office 14 - Seattle AK, ID, OR and WA Marcus Tapia, District Director (206) 470-3100 U.S. Dept. of Labor, OWCP 300 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1050F Seattle, WA 98104-2429 Fax: (206) 470-3101 District Office 16 - Dallas LA, OK and TX Carol A. De La Rosa Green, Acting District Director (214) 749-2320 U.S. Dept. of Labor, OWCP 525 South Griffin Street, Room 100 Dallas, TX 75202 Fax: (214) 749-2321 District Office 25 - Washington, DC DC and VA, plus MD when claimant's residence has a ZIP code other than 21xxx Abbas Sadiq, District Director (202) 513-6800 U.S. Dept. of Labor, OWCP 800 N. Capitol Street, N.W., Room 800 Washington, DC 20211 Fax: (202) 513-6806

NALC National Business Agent offices

You can find your national business agent’s office here

OWCP laws, regulations and USPS manuals

• The Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA)
• FECA Implementing Regulations 20 CFR Part 10
• USPS Injury Compensation Manual EL-505
• USPS Employee Labor Relations Manual (ELM) section 540 Injury Compensation Program

The NALC/OWCP folder

Workers’ compensation claims generate a lot of documents from doctors, the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) and the postal service. Keeping track of those documents is essential for successfully filing and maintaining OWCP claims. The NALC has developed a folder for injured workers and their representatives to use in the OWCP claims process.

The OWCP folders offer injured workers a place to store documents and valuable information for successfully filing a claim.

The front of the folder has a place to list important contact information, claim facts like type of claim (CA-1, CA-2), claim number and date of injury. There is also check boxes for possible postal grievances and OWCP appeals.

The inside of the folder has checklists for important documents necessary in CA-1 traumatic injury and CA-2 occupational disease claims. Explanations of OWCP appeal routes are also on the inside page.

Branches can order OWCP folders from the NALC’s supply department by calling (202) - 393-4695.