Will FECA replace the CICP

Could the federal workman's comp program become a better option for vaccine injuries of federal employees?

With the Labor Department’s announcement of FECA coverage for federal employees who suffer from COVID-19 vaccine injury, many questions surface regarding the coverage, who is covered, the compensation amounts, and will this replace or become a better option for many instead of filing in the black hole known as the CounterMeasures Injury Compensation Program.

There are approximately 2.1 million federal civilian employees as of June 2021 per the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

This does not include the 4.2 million federal contractors who are not federal employees and are in limbo regarding FECA benefits.

The Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) provides coverage to federal civilian employees who have sustained work-related injuries or disease by providing appropriate monetary and medical benefits and help in returning to work. Monetary benefits include compensation for lost wages and permanent impairment. Medical benefits provided to injured federal employees under the FECA include payment for reasonable and necessary medical treatment for the work-related injury or disease that OWCP considers likely to cure, relieve or lessen the period of disability.

If I am reading the multiple messages from Department of Labor and the social media posts correctly, traditionally, vaccine injuries are not covered by FECA. However, since President Biden’s mandate of COVID-19 vaccines, now they can be.

Still, that is very subjective. Can be. That has yet to be proven so.

My conversations with a couple of attorneys that help federal employees with FECA are not sure if this will happen. And then, will it bankrupt the system?

“employees impacted by this mandate who receive required COVID-19 vaccinations on or after the date of the executive order [September 9] may be afforded coverage under the FECA for any adverse reactions to the vaccine itself, and for any injuries sustained while obtaining the vaccination.”

Benefits would include current medical care plus future medical care.

But no pain & suffering for the injury. Nor does the CICP provide pain and suffering. So it is a push on that issue.

The employee must report the injury immediately. In the CICP, you have 1 year to file from the date of the vaccination.

It has been argued by many including me that the CICP will not move on any vaccine injury petition. Why would they? To do so, would expose HHS and Public Health to some form of examination of what happened. By sitting on the petitions and they can, the injury and the mechanism for why it happened are kept in the closet.

So if the federal employee needs medical care now and is willing to accept a workman’s comp type of compensation, maybe FECA is the way to go.

A big concern is this: will FECA claims be hidden from public inspection of data? Meaning, is this another way to bury COVID vaccination injury data from the public eye? The lack of transparency.

More to come. Soon. Your thoughts.

Keep learning, keep challenging yourself and always, always question authority.

Have a good day.