Printing - FECA-PT2 - National Association of Letter Carriers

2-0600 Exhibit 1: Sample Letter to be Sent to Claimant at 10 Months After Disability
Dear CLAIMANT NAME:
This is to advise you of the effect of your work-related injury on your employment status.
To date, your employing agency has not identified a job which meets your work limitations. The
Registered Nurse [or Rehabilitation Counselor] who has been working with you on behalf of this Office has
advised us that your agency does not appear likely to make you a job offer in the near future.
Under Section 5 U.S.C. 8151 of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act, only a total recovery (that is,
the ability to return to regular work) within one year of the date that wage loss began will protect your
right to reclaim the job you held at the time of injury, or an equivalent job. Without such a recovery, the
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) will begin the next stage of the rehabilitation effort.
This stage, called Plan Development, will prepare you for other employment. This work may be with
another Federal agency, but it will probably be with a private employer. This process may require that
you be retrained, or that skills you already have be further developed.
OWCP will make every effort to identify your vocational strengths and aptitudes, prepare you for
employment in a specified job, and aid in placement. Your full cooperation is expected in returning to
work, whether with another Federal agency or in the private sector. OWCP will continue to monitor your
medical status throughout this process.
The new employment may involve some loss of pay. At the end of the placement services, OWCP will
determine any loss of wage-earning capacity and reduce your compensation payments accordingly. In all
likelihood, this reduction in benefits will occur whether or not you are actually reemployed.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
CLAIMS EXAMINER
FECA-PT2 Printed: 06/08/2010 77