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GAO-13-143R 1 (2012-12-07)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacgso0001 and id is 1 raw text is: L GAO Accountablty *Integrity * Reliability United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548 December 7, 2012 The Honorable George Miller Ranking Member Committee on Education and the Workforce United States House of Representatives The Honorable Lynn Woolsey Ranking Member Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Committee on Education and the Workforce United States House of Representatives Subject: Federal Employees' Compensation Act: Effects of Proposed Changes on Partial Disability Beneficiaries Depend on Employment After Injury In 2010, the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) program paid $1.9 billion in cash benefits to federal workers who sustained injuries or illnesses while performing federal duties.1 The U.S. Department of Labor (Labor) administers the program and bases FECA benefits on an employee's wages at time of injury, his or her ability to work after the injury, and whether he or she has eligible dependents. Specifically, beneficiaries unable to return to work-total disability beneficiaries-who have an eligible dependent are compensated at 75 percent of gross wages at the time of injury and those without an eligible dependent are compensated at 66-2/3 percent. Beneficiaries who Labor determines have the ability to return to work after their injury-partial disability beneficiaries-are similarly compensated at 75 percent or 66-2/3 percent of the difference between wages at the time of injury and post- injury wage earning capacity (either based on actual earnings or Labor's estimate of what a beneficiary could earn in a suitable job-constructed earnings). FECA benefits for all beneficiaries are adjusted for inflation and are not taxed or subject to age restrictions, and thus some policymakers are concerned about the level of FECA benefits. 1 The receipt of FECA benefits is generally the exclusive remedy for being injured on the job and a federal employee is prohibited from suing his or her employer or recovering damages for such injury under another statute. GAO-1 3-143R FECA Changes & Partial Benefits

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