Printing - FECA-PT2 - National Association of Letter Carriers

Example: Federal employee, a veteran, is disabled by or dies from pulmonary tuberculosis.
DVA finds that the disease became manifest within the medical presumptive period after
military service and grants benefits on the basis of military service connection. OWCP finds
that the disability or death resulting from this disease is related to veteran's Federal civilian
employment and grants FECA benefits. Employee or his survivors are eligible for both FEC
and veterans' benefits for the same disability or death, namely, that resulting from
pulmonary tuberculosis. An election is required.
(2) The prohibition also extends to an increase in a veteran's service-connected disability
award, where the increase is brought about by an injury sustained while in civilian
employment. See Louis Teplitsky (22 ECAB 142) and France Marie Kral (24 ECAB 157).
Example 1: A Federal employee is receiving benefits from the DVA for 50 percent disability
due to a service-connected emotional condition, and has a civilian employment injury which
causes a disabling aggravation of the pre-existing emotional condition. OWCP determines
that the employee has a total loss of wage-earning capacity due to the emotional condition.
Subsequent to the employment injury, DVA increases its award to 100 percent as a result of
the aggravation by the civilian employment injury.
An election between benefits is required in this case. The election will be between the
amount of entitlement under FECA plus the amount received from the DVA for 50 percent
prior to his civilian employment injury, on the one hand, and the total amount of
entitlement from the DVA for 100 percent, on the other hand.
In other words, no election is required between the veteran's benefit the claimant was
receiving at the time of the civilian employment injury and the FECA benefits to which the
claimant is entitled for the civilian employment injury because these benefits are not
payable for the same injury. When the DVA increased its benefits an election was required
because the increased benefits were payable because of the same employment injury which
formed the basis of entitlement to FECA benefits.
Example 2: A Federal employee is receiving benefits from the DVA for 20 percent disability
based on a service-connected injury to the right knee. A subsequent injury to the same
knee while in civilian employment results in 25 percent disability of the leg, for which FECA
benefits are payable. The DVA increases its award to 30 percent because of the civilian
employment injury.
The election required in this case is the same as that required in Example No. 1 above--i.e.,
between a schedule award, for the full extent of the permanent loss of the use of the leg
under the FECA plus the amount received from the DVA prior to the employment injury, on
the one hand, and the total benefits provided by the DVA subsequent to its increase, on the
other hand.
(a) No reduction in a schedule award is required under 5 U.S.C. 8108 where the
DVA has made an award for an earlier injury to the same member (see Example 2
above). It has been determined that the word "injury" as used in 5 U.S.C. 8108
means an earlier injury received while in Federal civilian employment.
FECA-PT2 Printed: 06/08/2010 534