Secret Shopping and OWCP

A Postal Inspector tactic to trick injured workers has recently been brought to my attention. An injured worker was contacted by someone from a “marketing” company who wanted her to work as a secret shopper. She met with them, was given some gift cards to use, and proceeded to “work” by occasionally buying things. Turns out, the various representatives of the company were all Postal Inspectors. The injured worker even went to a bowling party with other “employees” of the “marketing” company. Her new friends were all Postal inspectors. The injured worker was successfully prosecuted for fraud.

If you are receiving benefits because you are unable to work, you cannot work. You cannot engage in any activity that could be construed in any way as working or operating a business.

Hot Coffee - The Movie

Anyone struggling with the workers compensation process recognizes how our society now treats injured workers as second-class citizens. Since the 1960's, insurance companies and big business interest groups have pushed the many myths that have together turned workers compensation and other critical safety nets of our society into decisions that cause people to feel shame and draw the scorn of those who have not had the misfortune of needing to draw these benefits.

With this in mind, I encourage you to watch Hot Coffee, a documentary about the well-known incident of the woman burned by McDonalds’ coffee. Hot Coffee shows just how a story that should be about corporate greed can be turned on its head to blame the victim. You will be shocked to learn how corporate interests spend enormous amounts of money to influence public debate to the point where ordinary citizens no longer understand their own self-interest!

Susan Saladoff produced and directed this film as an article of faith and a labor of love. Years of hard work paid off when Hot Coffee was shown at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Shortly after that, HBO optioned the film. I had the honor of being invited to an early screening last year.

Be sure to watch this Monday at 9 pm (EST), June 27, the HBO premiere of Hot Coffee -- a documentary about the fictions and false alarms that threaten the civil justice system.

Mail Sorters

Postal Service Mail Sorters
After losing almost 57,000 jobs between 2004 and 2009, the BLS expects a further 30% decline in this occupation by 2018. With more automated processes for mail sorting and increasing correspondence via e-mail and fax, this job is quickly becoming unnecessary.

DOL officials ask congress to reduce benefits

Department of Labor officials who are supposed to be protecting injured workers in the administration of FECA, are continuing their scorched earth policy of partnering with employing agencies in various efforts to reduce or eliminate FECA benefits. Most recently, DOL personnel from OWCP testified to congress about ways they want to strip benefits from the FECA process. It is quite telling to see how the testimony from DOL personnel, agency personnel, and private contractors is all in lock step versus the testimony from federal unions. You can read an account of the recent hearing:

http://www.lexisnexis.com/community/workerscompensationlaw/blogs/workerscompensationlawblog/archive/2011/05/24/feca--federal-employees-compensation-act-reform-proposals-webcast-witness-statements.aspx

Work Injuries Are Heavily Unreported

Despite what we tend to hear in the media from insurance companies and entities like OWCP who try to create the impression of rampant fraud on the part of injured workers, work injuries are heavily under-reported. Many workers suffer injuries and simply "tough it out" because they either don't realize they have suffered a work-related injury, or they do not want to deal with the perceived (and sometimes true) career implications and hassle factors. Recently, I have heard from many USPS employees who are afraid to file OWCP cases because of the current work environment at the USPS with the continuing effects of the NRP.

Workers who perform the most physically demanding jobs tend to get hurt the most, yet they are often the least prepared to handle this type of paper process.

Injuries that typically go unreported, in my experience, include hearing loss due to loud noise on the job and many types of repetitive motion injuries. For example, federal law enforcement officers and firefighters are are frequently exposed to loud noise during training and in the field, loud noise exposure may occur in situations where safety issues preclude the use of proper noise protection equipment. USPS employees working around large mailhandling machinery are also frequently exposed to long term loud noise that damages their hearing as well.

Whether such injuries are under-reported because of ignorance, fear of reprisal, or a work environment that encourages a tough guy attitude, its not smart to ignore your health. Ignoring an injury does not make you tough!

Online Survey - a chance to tell OWCP what you think

OWCP currently has an online survey, so let them know about your experience with the federal workers compensation (FECA) process, click on the link below, then scroll down the letter and click on the link towards the bottom right:

http://www.dol.gov/owcp/OWCPSurveyLetter.pdf

Be Prepared for Your Periodic Roll Review

The Federal Employees' Compensation Procedure Manual indicates at 2-0700-17, Periodic Roll Review, that the Claims Examiner should review each case at least once a year to verify continuing entitlement to benefits, ensure that benefits are being paid at the “proper” level, resolve third party issues, and discontinue benefits when warranted. The annual review of a case often begins during the month prior to an injured worker’s birthday when form letters are mailed requesting information about entitlement to other government benefits, status of dependents, third party settlements, and possible work activity. Simultaneously, a request for medical evidence is made seeking to verify continuing presence of objective findings, an ongoing relationship of the accepted condition to the work injury, and the extent of disability.

Like a series of forks in the road, what happens next depends on many factors, some of which pertain to the specifics of your case, and some of which are the programmatic emphases of the day, the workload, or most anything else. As the Scout motto says, your best move is always to “Be prepared.” Regular medical care and timely comprehensive reports, medical testing as needed, surgery when prudent, are all obviously required. If you have moved, been divorced, or had any other change in your situation, don’t wait for the review to report it.

If you know that you are not totally disabled from the work injury, but have preexisting conditions that are also disabling, or another condition that has not yet been accepted as compensable, ensure that you have complete medical records available to prove it.

Finally, if you suspect that the axe may soon fall, the best time to seek help from a knowledgeable source is before that actually occurs in order to have the best chance of preserving benefits before you open the Notice of Decision reducing or terminating your benefits. Declining workloads at OWCP coupled with today’s economic environment and budgetary issues all mean that your number may come up sooner rather than later. Be prepared!