Printing - FECA-PT2 - National Association of Letter Carriers

closure of an installation, cessation of special ("pipeline") funding, termination of temporary employment,
or reduction in force (RIF). (A true RIF affects full-duty and light-duty workers alike. If it is not clear
whether the claimant's situation involves a RIF or the withdrawal of light duty, the CE should request the
personnel document on which the removal was based.) Such occurrences are not considered recurrences
of disability (see FECA PM 2-1500.3b), and the CE should take action according to whether a formal LWEC
determination has been made. See Jack H. Mason, Docket No. 06-243 (issued June 20, 2006) (ECAB held
that OWCP properly denied modification of appellant's loss of wage-earning capacity decision, as the
evidence was insufficient to show that appellant could not perform the duties of his light duty position
which was eliminated due to a RIF). See also Thomas A. Crow, Docket No.99-1455 (issued December 5,
2000) (ECAB, citing the implementing regulations at 20 C.F.R. § 10.509, held that appellant did not
establish a recurrence of disability beginning when his job was eliminated in a RIF, as the medical
evidence was insufficient to establish that he was no longer able to perform the physical requirements of
the light-duty position he had held).
As noted in 20 C.F.R. 10.509, an employee generally will not be considered to have experienced a
compensable recurrence of disability as defined in 20 CFR § 10.5(x) merely because his or her employer
has eliminated the employee's light-duty position in a reduction-in-force or some other form of
downsizing. When this occurs, OWCP will determine the employee's wage-earning capacity based on his
or her actual earnings in such light-duty position if this determination is appropriate on the basis that such
earnings fairly and reasonably represent the employee's wage-earning capacity and such a determination
has not already been made. For the purposes of 10.509, a light-duty position
means a classified position to which the injured employee has been formally reassigned that conforms to
the established physical limitations of the injured employee and for which the employer has already
prepared a written position description such that the position constitutes federal employment. In the
absence of a "light-duty position" as described in this paragraph, OWCP will assume that the employee
was instead engaged in non-competitive employment which does not represent the employee's
wage-earning capacity, i.e., work of the type provided to injured employees who cannot otherwise be
employed by the Federal Government or in any well-known branch of the general labor market.
a. LWEC Determination Made. When a formal loss of wage-earning capacity (LWEC) has been
determined (by Form CA-1047, CA-1048 or narrative decision), the claimant has the burden, with
respect to any subsequent loss of earnings, to show that one of the accepted reasons for modifying
an LWEC applies. These reasons are: the original LWEC rating was in error; the employee's
medical condition has changed; or the employee has been vocationally rehabilitated, either through
vocational training or self-rehabilitation, and the wage-earning capacity has increased as a result.
Therefore, the status of an employee with an established wage-earning capacity who is removed
because of a RIF or closure does not change with regard to receipt of FECA benefits. If a formal
claim for recurrence is filed, it should be denied unless the claimant has shown a material change
in his or her medical condition as defined in paragraph 11 above.
b. LWEC Determination Not Made. When no formal finding of wage-earning capacity has been
made, and the claimant has worked in the position for at least 60 days, the CE should consider a
retroactive LWEC determination (see FECA PM 2-814.7(e)). This is true even if the claimant is a
Federal employee, since general availability of the job need not be considered for a position
actually held.
FECA-PT2 Printed: 06/08/2010 451