U S Government Accountability Office

Federal Employees Compensation Act U S Government Accountability Office

" In fiscal year 2012, the FECA program made more than $2.1 billion in wage-loss compensation payments to claimants. FECA provides benefits to federal employees who sustained injuries or illnesses at work. GAO was asked to examine whether examples of improper payments, potential fraud, or overlapping benefits could be found in the FECA program. This report identifies examples of these issues, what factors may contribute to these issues, and how, if at all, Labor could address them. GAO matched QW and unemployment files from five selected states with FECA payment files for the period of July 2009 to June 2010. GAO identified 530 individuals who received concurrent FECA compensation payments and wages of at least $5,000 between July 2009 and June 2010. GAO also identified 50 individuals who received concurrent FECA compensation and UI benefits of at least $5,000 each during the same period. GAO randomly selected up to seven recipients from each state for an in-depth review, for a total of 32 QW and 19 UI cases, respectively. These examples cannot be generalized beyond those presented. GAO also reviewed Labor's policies, guidelines, and procedures for managing claims. "