Printing - FECA-PT2 - National Association of Letter Carriers

2-0804-6 To and From Work
6. To and From Work. Employees do not generally have the protection of the FECA when injured
while en route between work and home.
a. Exceptions. There are five well-established exceptions to this general rule. These
exceptions are:
(1) Where the employment requires the employee to travel;
(2) Where the employer contracts for and furnishes transportation to and from work;
(3) Where the employee is subject to emergency duty, as in the case of firefighters;
(4) Where the employee uses the highway or public transportation to do something
incidental to employment with the knowledge and approval of the employer; and
(5) Where the employee is required to travel during a curfew established by local,
municipal, county or state authorities because of civil disturbances or for other reasons.
b. Where the Employment Requires the Employee to Travel. This situation will not occur in the
case of an employee having a fixed place of employment unless on an errand or special mission. It
usually involves an employee who performs all or most of the work away from the industrial
premises, such as a chauffeur, truck driver, or messenger. In cases of this type the official
superior should be requested to submit a supplemental statement fully describing the employee's
assigned duties and showing how and in what manner the work required the employee to travel,
whether on the highway or by public transportation. In injury cases a similar statement should be
obtained from the injured employee.
c. Where the Employer Contracts for and Furnishes Transportation to and from Work. Where
this expectation is claimed, the official superior should be requested to submit a supplemental
statement showing, with appropriate explanation, whether the employee's transportation was
furnished or otherwise provided by contract by contract by the employer. In injury cases a similar
statement should be obtained from the injured employee. Also see Program Memorandum 104
dated October 24, 1969.
The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005 ( Public Law 109-59)
amends Title 31, Section 1344 of the U.S. Code to allow Federal agencies in the National Capitol
Region to pay for the costs of shuttle buses or other means of transportation between the place of
employment and mass transit facilities. The bill statues that for "purpose of any determination
under chapter 81 of title 5 ... an individual shall not be considered to be ' in the performance of
duty' or 'acting within the scope of his or her employment' by virtue of the fact that such individual
is receiving transportation services" under this legislation.
IF it is determined that a shuttle bus or other means of transportation to and from mass transit is
authorized under this statue, then the injury is not considered to have occurred within the
performance of duty. When requesting information from the agency about the employer-provided
conveyance, the agency should be asked whether the service in question was provided pursuant to
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