Browsing: Workers’ compensation

Q. Does a person who is currently working and under workers’ compensation have to use all of his annual leave and/or sick leave before he can use leave without pay for their workers’ comp appointments? A. No. However, the granting of LWOP is entirely at the supervisor’s discretion.

Q. I have been on workers’ compensation since December 2010. I had back surgery in May 2011 and had another this spring. I am going to fill out the Office of Personnel Management paperwork for medical disability retirement and want to suspend that benefit and remain on workers’ comp because it’s more advantageous. Once I convert to OPM retirement, will the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs still be responsible for my medical needs and medication, or do all OWCP benefits stop? I have nine years of federal service and do have Federal Employees Health Benefits, but I’m not sure how…

Q. I was affected by base realignment and closure in 1995. My agency moved from Kettering, Ohio, to Columbus, more than 90 miles each way. Married with a child in school, I was not able to relocate.  Incidentally, I was also on workers’ compensation at the time. I resigned due to work offered outside my commuting area but received workers’ comp for the next 13 years. In March 2009, I gained employment at another government agency (we moved to another state). The new agency doesn’t want to give me my full tenure toward retirement.  It was always my belief that…

Q. I have been receiving my husband’s annuity but got hurt at work and now receive workers’ compensation. Because of this, my survivor annuity has been canceled. Is this correct? A. Yes, you have to make a choice. If you elect workers’ compensation and it is later canceled, you can once again receive your survivor annuity.

Q. I am a federal employee with 15 years of active service. For the past 11 years, I have been receiving workers’ compensation due to an on-the-job injury. I am eligible for regular retirement under FERS. Do the years on workers’ comp count as creditable service years with regard to computation for my retirement benefits? After I retire, under FERS, will workers’ comp still pay for my Federal Employees Health Benefits insurance premiums? A. Your years on workers compensation won’t be considered creditable service. The Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs won’t pay for your FEHB coverage after you stop receiving workers’…

Q. I am 62 and have been with the Postal Service for 26 years. I am hoping to retire this summer. I have a job-related permanent disability and have qualified for workers’ compensation. I have not yet started receiving compensation, but my payout figure on workers’ comp is significantly higher than my FERS pension and is also significantly higher than my Social Security pension, which will also begin this year. Are there any “offsets” to either my FERS pension or Social Security pension if I take the workers’ comp payment? Am I correct in understanding that I am entitled to…

Q. I am a 20+year Postal Service employee. I had an on-the-job injury and have been on leave without pay and receiving workers’ compensation for two years. Recently, I was separated from the Postal Service due to being on the Office of Workers’ Compensation Program rolls for more than a year. My last pay stub shows I have 190 hours of annual leave. Should I be paid for this now that I’ve been separated? A. Yes, you are entitled to a lump-sum payment from your former agency.

Q. My mother and I are both Postal Service FERS employees. My mother is planning to retire in two years at age 67 with 15+ years of service. She has had some injuries and illness over the past few years, including an on-the-job injury that her supervisor intentionally mishandled to keep her from receiving workers’ compensation, which have depleted her sick leave and any annual leave reserve. She has very little reserve to handle any more such occurrences without using leave without pay. She is under the impression that she cannot retire with FERS or benefits if she uses any…

Q. I am on workers’ compensation, and I am interested in starting my disability retirement benefits. I talked with a lady at the Office of Personnel Management, and she informed me that I could go back to work someday and still collect disability retirement benefits, but my gross salary could not be more than 80 percent of my Postal Service salary. If I were to sell a house and make a profit, is that considered gross salary, like a job would be? A. No, it isn’t. The 80 percent limit applies only to earnings from wages and self-employment, not other…