LEAVE BUY BACK - 15th Annual Federal Workers' Compensation ...

LEAVE BUY BACK
Course 18

Leave e Buy Back - Definition
• When an employee uses sick or annual
leave to cover absence from work
resulting from an accepted work related
injury or disease, he or she may later
request to buy back the leave hours used,
with employing agency concurrence, and
claim compensation for the period of
disability

Leave Buy Back - Definition
(continued)
• If leave buy back is approved, the hours
used are re-credited to the employee’s
leave account, and compensation payable
for the period of disability is calculated by
OWCP and paid to the employing agency.

Leave Buy Back - Definition
(continued)
• Because sick or annual leave is paid at
100% of an employee’s regular pay, while
compensation is paid at either ¾ or 2/3 of
an employee’s pay, the employee must
pay the difference to the agency to
complete the process (either ¼ or 1/3 of
the amount paid by the agency for the
hours of leave used)

Procedures
Poced
es
• Employee completes CA-7 and, if intermittent
absences, CA-7a, Leave Analysis, itemizing
dates, hours, leave used and reasons.
• Employee provides supporting probative medical
information to support each absence or period
of absence.
• Employing Agency (supervisor, compensation
specialist, payroll) verifies absences with
timecards, medical information and certifies
Form CA-7 and CA-7a.

Procedures
Poced
es
• Employing Agency (supervisor, compensation
specialist, and/or payroll) completes front of
Form CA-7b with premium pay information, if
applicable, from Payroll Office.
• Fiscal/Payroll Office completes Section II on
reverse of CA-7b and returns to compensation
specialist.
• Specialist meets with employee to counsel and
obtain signature in Section III and forwards to
OWCP for action or files in compensation file.

Leave e Buy Back - Requirements
ements
• Form CA-7, along with form CA-7b are
required. If hours claimed are
intermittent, form CA-7a is also required.
All forms must be completed in their
entirety.

Leave e Buy Back - Requirements
ements
• An agency official must indicate agency
approval of the leave buy back request by
signing form CA-7b.
Approval is at the
agency’s discretion.

Leave e Buy Back - Requirements
ements
• Medical documentation is required to
support that the claimed period of
disability is due to the accepted work
injury or disease.

Leave e Buy Back - Requirements
ements
• If not present when the CA-7 is received,
the claims examiner will send a letter to
the employee requesting evidence. Do not
hold up the submission of the paperwork
p
waiting for the employee to provide
medical.

Leave Buy Back – Requirements
(continued)
• LBB may also be requested for
intermittent dates of wage loss to
attend medical appointments.
Documentation of treatment for the
accepted work injury or disease is
required.

Leave e Buy Back - Requirements
ements
• On form CA-7b, the employing agency must
estimate the amount of compensation payable
by OWCP for the hours claimed for LBB.
• The estimate is calculated by multiplying the
weekly pay rate (for either date of injury, date
disability began or date of recurrence, as
applicable) by the compensation rate (either ¾
or 2/3) by the number of hours claimed, divided
by the number of hours worked per week
(normally 40)

Leave e Buy Back - Requirements
ements
[Weekly pay rate] x [¾ or 2/3] x [no. of
hours] / 40

Leave e Buy Back - Processing
• Upon receipt of the claim, if medical
evidence supports entitlement for all hours
claimed, the claims examiner calculates
compensation payable.
• If the amount calculated is within 10 % of
the agency estimate, payment is issued to
the agency. The employee is instructed to
contact the agency for the amount he/she
must pay to complete the process

Leave e Buy Back - Processing
• If the amount of compensation payable is
not within 10% of the agency’s estimate
of entitlement, a letter is sent to the
employee stating the amount of
compensation payable.

Leave e Buy Back - Processing
• This letter includes an attachment (EN-
1207) which may be signed by the
employee and an agency official and
submitted to indicate acceptance of the
amount of compensation offered for the
leave buy back. Upon receipt by OWCP,
payment is then issued.

Leave e Buy Back - Processing
• If all hours claimed are not payable due to
a lack of documentation, ,p payment may be
issued for the portion for which
entitlement is supported, as long as the
calculated compensation amount is within
10 % of the agency estimate, proportional
p
to the number of hours approved.

Leave e Buy Back - Processing
• Al letter is then sent tt to the employee
explaining which dates/hours were not
payable
• If supportive medical evidence is
requested by the claims examiner for any
of the dates claimed in the LBB, but not
received or not sufficient to support
entitlement, a formal decision denying
compensation is issued to the employee

Leave e Buy Back - Other Notes
• When leave is bought back, the dates are
converted to leave without pay, and are
not subject to deductions for tax, TSP or
other deductions, and leave is not earned.
Therefore, LBB may affect an employee’s
leave balance, TSP account and taxable
income.

Employee Election
• If the employee chooses not
to buy-back back leave, the forms
are filed in the claimant’s compensation
file.
• (Do not submit to OWCP)

References
ences
• 20 CFR 10.401
• 20 CFR 10.425
• FECA Procedure Manual, Chapter 2-901
(19)

References
ences
• 5 CFR Part 353
• Guide to Processing Personnel Actions
• Federal Personnel Manual (FPM)
• FPM Supplement 296-33, Chapter 15:
Placement in Non-pay or Non-duty
status
• FPM Supplement 296-33, Chapter 16:
Return to Duty from Non-pay Status

AQS Electronic Filing
CA-7
CA-7A
CA-7B

Contact Information
• Amanda England alengland@tva.gov
Program Manager
Tennessee Valley Authority
• Cindy DeAngelo cdeangelo@bop.gov
Workers’ Compensation / Employee Health
Program Coordinator
Federal Bureau of Prisons

Questions