Controversion

ATTENTION ALL CARRIERS THAT HAVE FILED A CLAIM TO OWCP. Once you receive a Development Letter, YOU MUST CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY. Call 631-789-1616 so we can review your claim to determine what you need to do in order to help get your case approved. Failure to contact me could result in your claim being denied.

The term "controvert" means to dispute, challenge, or deny the validity of a claim for Continuation of Pay (COP). When the Postal Service objects to paying COP for one of the reasons provided by regulation it is called controversion. The supervisor may controvert a claim by completing the indicated portion of Form CA-1 and submitting detailed supporting information to OWCP. Even though a claim is controverted, the Postal Service must continue the employee's regular pay unless at least one of the following conditions applies:

     A. The disability is a result of an occupational disease or illness;

     B. The employee comes within the exclusions of 5 U.S.C. 8101 (1) (B) or (E) (which refers to persons serving without pay or nominal pay and to persons appointed to the staff of a former President);

     C. The employee is neither a citizen nor a resident of the United States or Canada;

     D. The injury occurred off the employing agency's premises and the employee was not engaged in official "off-premises" duties;

     E. The employee caused the injury by his or her willful misconduct, or the employee intended to bring about his or her injury or death or that of another person, or the employee's intoxication was the proximate cause of the injury;

     F. The injury was not reported on a form approved by OWCP (usually Form CA- 1) within 30 days of the injury;

     G. Work stoppage occurred more than 45 days after the injury;

     H. The employee first reported the injury after employment was terminated;

      I. The employee is enrolled in the Civil Air Patrol, Peace Corps, Job Corps, Youth Conservation Corps, work study program or other group covered by special legislation.

     The Postal Service may not continue COP only under any of the above circumstances.

The Postal Service may dispute an employee's right to receive COP, and/or the validity of the claim as a whole, on other grounds. For instance on the basis that the employee was not performing assigned duties when the injury occurred or that the condition claimed is not the result of a work related injury. Any such objection would need to be supported by factual evidence such as witness statements, pictures, accident investigation reports, or time sheets.

If the validity of a claim is disputed for reasons other than the nine listed above, the agency must continue regular pay for up to 45 calendar days.

     When the employer does controvert a claim, OWCP requires it to advise the employee of the challenge and its basis. Postal regulations also require written notification to the employee in all controversions and challenges.

     Despite the regulations, supervisors and managers often fail to notify employees of controversions and challenges. These regulations are found under the FECA and in the National Agreement. Since timely knowledge of challenges and controversions is important any injured letter carrier who does not receive written notice by management of such, should inform their steward. A grievance should be filed to hold management accountable for their failure to meet the requirement that written notice be given to the injured letter carrier when controversion or challenging of a claim is done by management.