How Do I File a Claim?
How do I file a claim? This is one of many questions injured employees ask themselves when they suffer an injury on the job while in the performance of their duties. The Federal Employees' Compensation program provides Federal employees who sustain work related injury or illness with benefits such as medical care, wage loss replacement, and help in returning to work. Their goal is to provide the proper benefits as quickly as possible. The Dept. of Labor (DOL) Office of Workers’ Compensation Program (OWCP) provides a seamless process on how to file a claim under Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA). They have created a web-based application called Employees' Compensation Operations & Management Portal or ECOMP. It is a website that provides federal agencies with an electronic system for recording workplace injuries and illnesses, and processing claims under FECA. On the ECOMP site you can register for an account, initiate a claim, upload documents, submit forms, and access your case.
FECA provides that a claim for compensation must be filed within 3 years of the date of injury. For a traumatic injury, the statutory time limitation begins to run from the date of injury. For a latent condition, it begins to run when an injured employee with a compensable disability becomes aware, or reasonably should have been aware, of a possible relationship between the medical condition and the employment. Where the exposure to the identified factors of employment continues after this knowledge, the time for filing begins to run on the date of the employee's last exposure to those factors. If a claim is not filed within 3 years, compensation may still be paid if written notice of injury was given within 30 days or if the employer had actual knowledge of the injury within 30 days after it occurred. There is nothing to prohibit you from filing the claim. Timeliness is determined by the OWCP office as part of the adjudication process. 5 U.S.C. § 8122; 20 C.F.R. §§ 10.100-10.101.
When you experience an injury or illness on the job, here’s what you need to do first. You need to complete either form CA-1, "Federal Employee's Notice of Traumatic Injury and Claim for Continuation of Pay/Compensation" or form CA-2 "Notice of Occupational Disease and Claim for Compensation". A traumatic injury is one that can be pinpointed to have occurred during one particular work shift – falling down the steps for example. An occupational disease is a medical condition that has developed due to work activities performed over more than one work shift. 20 C.F.R. §§ 10.100-10.101. You also need to obtain form CA-16, Authorization for Examination and/or Treatment, from Management. It is the only form that you cannot print yourself from the DOL website. You must get it from Management. Another form that you must get is form CA-17, Duty Status Report, that Management must complete the left side, Side A, of the form first and your doctor or physician must complete the right side, Side B. This form stipulates what medical restrictions you have based off your normal daily job duties/activities that Management has provided.
These forms can be submitted electronically via the ECOMP site, https://www.ecomp.dol.gov/. You must first register for an account and initiate a claim. These are the steps after registration.
1. Once you have registered, you log on to your ECOMP account and click “Initiate Claim”
2. Employment Status should state “United States Postal Service”
3. Select Agency Group should state “Atlantic Area”
4. Select Agency should state “New York 2 (110, 111, 113-119)
5. Duty Station should state “Occupational Health Claims Office, 160 Duryea Rd., Melville, NY 11747”
6. To file a form for injury or illness:
1) Click “File Ca-1” or “File CA-2” or “File COVID-19”
7. Six sections of the CA-1 need to be completed:
1) Basics
2) Injury
3) Witness
4) Attachments
5) Review
6) Sign
You will then see a confirmation message that your claim has been forwarded to your supervisor for review. The ECN assigned to your claim is also displayed. You may use this number to track the status of your claim. You may also view or save a PDF copy of your CA‐1 using the "View" or "Get PDF" links. If you have documents you wish to upload, you may click the "Upload Attachments" link. You may also upload supporting documents at a later time. You will receive an email from ECOMP with the status of the ECN for your claim.
After your supervisor has reviewed the claim, it will be forwarded to your employing agency's ECOMP Agency Reviewer (AR). The AR will perform a final review of the CA-1 and forward it to OWCP for creation of a case as needed. The AR will also print the form and contact you and your supervisor to obtain signatures on the form. The Form CA‐1 with original signatures will be maintained by your employing agency.
If your injury did not result in lost time from work or any medical expense, or you only required first aid treatment, your employing agency will not forward your Form CA-1 to OWCP for creation of a case. Rather, it will be maintained in ECOMP, and may be reactivated by your AR for submission if you incur lost time or medical expense at a later date. If your Form CA-1 is forwarded to OWCP, you will receive an email from ECOMP with the case file number.
A Form CA-1 which has been filed but has not yet been forwarded to OWCP may be withdrawn. First, locate the ECN under the "Cases" tab or search for the ECN. Click the "Next Steps" drop-down menu and select "Withdraw Claim." You may also upload supporting documents for your claim by selecting "Upload Documents."
If you leave a form without completing it, the form will be maintained in a draft status for 30 days under the "Draft Forms" tab on your ECOMP Dashboard.
8. Seven sections of the CA-2 need to be completed:
1) Basics
2) Claim Information
3) Employee Statement
4) Medical Report
5) Attachments
6) Review
7) Sign
You will then see a confirmation message that your claim has been forwarded to your supervisor for review. The ECN assigned to your claim is also displayed. You may use this number to track the status of your claim. You may also view or save a PDF copy of your CA‐2 using the "View" or "Get PDF" links. If you have documents you wish to upload, you may click "Upload Attachments." You may also upload supporting documents at a later time. You will receive an email from ECOMP with the status of the ECN for your claim.
After your supervisor has reviewed the claim, it will be forwarded to your employing agency's ECOMP Agency Reviewer (AR). The AR will perform a final review of the claim and forward it to OWCP for creation of a case. The AR will also print the Form CA-2 and contact you and your supervisor to obtain signatures on the form. The Form CA‐2 with original signatures will be maintained by your employing agency. After your claim is submitted to OWCP, you will receive an email from ECOMP with your case file number.
If you need to file for compensation and you received an official FECA Case Number, you can file form CA-7, Claim for Compensation. *Remember you must have a FECA Claim Number to file a CA-7.*
You can access any updates or status of your claim through ECOMP as well as upload any documentation.
Be sure to keep a copy of everything for your records. Your agency will complete their portion of the CA-1 or CA-2 and submit the entire packet to the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) office. OWCP will advise you of the claim number which has been established. The office will review the information submitted and will determine if there is sufficient information to adjudicate the claim. If there is insufficient information to adjudicate the claim, they will send you a letter advising you of the additional information needed.
