Correspondence

Dear Mr. Dodaro:

On May 12, 2011, the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing entitled, "Reviewing Workers' Compensation for Federal Employees." At the hearing, the Acting Director of the Office of Worker's Compensation Programs (OWCP) in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) outlined the administration's draft reforms (Draft Reforms) to the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA), the federal statute that provides workers' compensation benefits to federal workers. Among its provisions, the Draft Reforms would: (1) convert benefits to a reduced level upon FECA beneficiaries reaching retirement age; (2) institute a uniform wage loss compensation level for all beneficiaries; and (3) require claimants to satisfy a waiting period before receiving "continuation-of-pay." We hereby ask the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine key questions associated with these three provisions. 

To read the full letter, click here.