Questions and Answers About the Federal Employees Compensation Act:
Part 1 of 4

The Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) provides benefits for civilian employees of the United States who are injured or who contract illness caused by their jobs. FECA is a long and complicated law. This blog post, divided into four parts, answers a series of questions about how a federal worker becomes entitled to benefits under FECA.

1. What are the requirements to make a successful FECA claim?

An injured federal employee has to prove five things:

  • The claim was filed within FECA’s time requirements
  • The injured or deceased person was a federal employee
  • The employee did actually get injured or develop a medical condition
  • The events leading to the injury or illness occurred during the course of the worker’s employment
  • The medical condition or death resulted from the events that led to the FECA claim

2. What are the FECA claim time limits?

A Notice of Injury and Claim for Compensation must be filed within three years of the date of injury. If the employee misses that deadline, the worker might still get compensation if the worker gave written notice of the injury – or if the employer actually knew about the injury – within 30 days after it happened.

3. How is “federal civilian employee” defined?

FECA covers all civilian employees of the United States, except those paid from non-appropriated funds. FECA also applies to:

  • Peace Corps and VISTA volunteers
  • Federal petit or grand jurors
  • Volunteer members of the Civil Air Patrol
  • Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadets
  • Enrollees in Job Corps, Neighborhood Youth Corps, and Youth Conservation Corps
  • Non-Federal law enforcement officers under certain circumstances involving crimes against the United States

FECA covers federal employees regardless of length of time on the job. In some circumstances, contract employees, volunteers, and loaned employees are covered under some circumstances.

4. How does the employee prove injury or other medical condition?

Evidence must be presented to answer two questions:

  • Did an incident occur at the time and place and in the manner claimed?
  • Does the employee have a medical condition that may be related to the incident?

5. What does “during performance of duty” mean?

Usually, this means that the events occurred during work hours on the employer’s premises while the worker was on the clock and performing assigned duties or other activities reasonably associated with his or her job. Workers injured while away from the employer’s premises but while performing work are covered, as well.

Watch for Parts 2-4 of this article, covering additional answers to common questions about the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act, coming soon. In the meantime, you may find additional answers in the related article, “Injured on the (Federal) Job?”

Contact Uliase & Uliase

For an appointment with an experienced New Jersey federal worker injury lawyer, contact our office online or call us at (856) 310-9002 to schedule an appointment with our experienced federal employee injury lawyers. We are open weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. We offer a free consultation for injured workers.