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"Phillip" is 52 years old and has saved up more than 1,500 hours of sick leave since he first started working for the federal government almost 30 years ago. He has been diagnosed with cancer. He hopes that with treatment, it will go into remission, but during chemotherapy, he is weak and is unable to come to work on most days.

"Bill," a federal employee since 1998, recently was diagnosed with an illness that affects his vocal chords. He loses his voice when he talks for periods of five minutes or longer. Without the use of his voice, Bill can't do his job, which involves presenting information to contractors regarding the needs of his agency. The damage to his vocal chords is permanent and the prognosis is that his illness will worsen over time.

"Pam" was delivering mail on her route when she slipped on a patch of ice and broke her arm.

All three of these examples illustrate situations when employees will need to use one of the benefits offered by the federal government to cover situations where their ability to work is impaired by illness or injury.

Phillip will need to use his sick leave to cover time away from work during his cancer treatment. He does not need to consider disability retirement yet, since he has so much sick leave saved up. He is still three years from being eligible for regular retirement benefits under the Civil Service Retirement System. If he eventually decides to apply for disability retirement, he will receive a benefit based on his years of service and his current high-three average salary. If he does not recover from his illness and dies while a federal employee, his spouse and dependent children will receive CSRS survivor benefits.

In Bill's case, if he's unable to perform "useful and efficient service" in his current job, he may need to file for disability retirement under CSRS or the Federal Employees Retirement System. (He may also qualify for Social Security disability benefits.) However, if his agency offers him a position that accommodates his disability at the same grade or pay level within his commuting area, and he turns it down, he will not be considered disabled.

Pam must file a claim for workers compensation, since her injury occurred while she was performing her duties as a mail carrier.

As these examples show, federal employees have a variety of benefits available if they become temporarily or permanently disabled. Let's look at each.

Sick Leave

Full-time federal employees accrue four hours of sick leave every two weeks. Sick leave accumulates throughout a career, and there are no limits on the amount that can be carried over from year to year. Over 20 years of service, an employee can accrue as much as a year of sick leave.

Employees would be wise to look at this leave as a very valuable short-term disability policy that can provide a full salary without the stress associated with a period of leave without pay or a need to tap into an agency's leave bank.

Agencies can set time limits on when employees must request sick leave -- including requiring advance approval for sick leave for their own or a family member's medical, dental or optical examination or treatment.

Here's an Office of Personnel Management fact sheet on sick leave.

Disability Retirement

OPM defines disability retirement as "a benefit provided to protect an employee who is no longer able to provide useful and efficient service in his or her current grade or pay level because of a medical condition."

Disability retirement should be a last resort and is appropriate only when reasonable efforts to preserve a person's employment have failed. If attempts to retain the employee in a productive capacity are unsuccessful, and the employee decides to apply for disability retirement, the agency must assist the employee in filing an application with OPM.

Under disability retirement, an employee is considered separated from federal service and is not expected to return to work. OPM has the right to request periodic medical reviews of those taking disability retirement until the annuitant turns 60. If he or she recovers from the disabling condition, then the benefit will stop one year after the medical evaluation or upon re-employment, if that occurs first.

OPM offers fact sheets about disability retirement under CSRS and FERS.

Workers Compensation

The Federal Employees' Compensation Act provides benefits to civilian federal employees for disability due to injury sustained while in the performance of job duties, and for employment-related disease.

Benefits include rehabilitation, medical, surgical and necessary expenses. FECA provides compensation to dependents if the injury or disease causes the employee's death.

FECA is administered by the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs at the Labor Department.

Injured employees are entitled to continuation of pay from their employing agency for up to 45 days of disability. If the disability continues for longer than that, then compensation for lost wages is payable after a three-day nonpaid waiting period. No waiting period is required, however, if the disability causing the wage loss lasts longer than 14 days from the time compensation begins. Injured employees also have the option of using sick leave if it is to their benefit.

FECA also provides compensation benefits based on loss of earnings capacity and schedule awards for the loss or loss of use of specified parts and functions of the body when there are permanent effects of a job-related injury.

If the employee has no dependents, compensation generally is payable at the rate of two-thirds of pre-disability gross wages tax-free; if the employee has one or more dependents, compensation is payable at the rate of three-fourths of pre-disability gross wages, tax-free. Employees who apply for permanent compensation may also apply for disability retirement under CSRS or FERS, although they cannot receive both workers' comp and disability retirement at the same time. Here's a OPM publication on the relationship between compensation and disability retirement.

Tammy Flanagan is the senior benefits director for the National Institute of Transition Planning Inc., which conducts federal retirement planning workshops and seminars. She has spent 25 years helping federal employees take charge of their retirement by understanding their benefits.

COMMENTS

• I was also an Air traffic control supervisor when I suffered a brain injury in July of 2006. I spent a year basically doing nothing except some menial training on a peice of equipment that could have been briefed by an entry into the daily read and initial file and updating a data base with employees names and social security numbers so they could get credentialed to be air traffic controllers. My agency felt I wasn't capable of doing much, and they are correct. However after the year was up they got really nasty and told me to take sick leave or retire. The sad part is I was only 10 months away from my regular retirement elegibility. The disability application process is a joke. I applied in April of 2007 and got approval in October of 2007, even thogh I had reams of paperwork saying I had a brain unjury and wasn't qualified to work. Only after calling innumerable times and basically getting the run around was I able to communicate with someone about my application. It was absolutely unreal. I was at the point where I was on the FAA supervisors web board begging for leave, because I had exhausted all 900 hours I had going to Dr's appointments after my injury. Thank god for those guys and gals because I think they were prepared to donate me enough leave to carry me over to my regular retirement day. Fortunately, the day I was about to get the word on how much leave was donated to that date, my disability retirement was approved. The people in my agency were totally clueless and inept, they wouldn't return phone calls or get me a copy of my OPF so I could verify that it was all correct. Nor did they return any of the forms to me that they were supposed to from my retirement application. Those at the facility level, who had to refer me to the regional specialists were very helpful, but it was basically out of their hands. In other words, don't look to your agency for any help with the process and Robert M. above is correct when he said "The reality is that, if you are injured doing your job, your pain has just begun". Also if you are injured or become ill while working for the government whether or not it is job related you pain has just begun as well. Rick Posted April 19, 2008 1:57 PM
• I was in a sick building, over 70 employees ill. Government hired air quality testing, found 12 times the allowed 15 minute exposure to formaldehyde in my office. Got owcp after a brain spect showing very abnormal brain activity while high on a 6 month old paint job in the clinic. Was accepted for allergic rhinitis although my doctor stated chemical sensitivity. Am now 67 years old and was sent to a hit man second opinion lung specialist doctor. I have no lung disease related accepted condition. He saw me for about 4 minutes and asked if I was in a sick building and listened to my lungs, said "thats all" and left. He wrote a report saying that he "feels" that I have no residual problems from the formaldehyde exposure, His "feels" statement was cited in my letter cutting off the OWCP payments as objective medical proof! Good God almighty, do I need to send these people a dictionary. The good doctor also "feels" that I have a strong psyciatriac componment to my illness due to my "ridiculous" reactions when exposed to chemicals, such as the chain smoker in his pressboard panelled waiting room. My doctor of 9 years, a member of the American Aceademy of Environmental Medicine who has administered and submitted medically recognized tests was totally dismissed as not submitting objective information. On previous occasions I have asked the claim examiners rate and they have all been grade 7s who are less than proficient in the english language. These people are making medical decisions that affect my life! Just submitted this to let you know that they harass you every year and I really wish I had taken the FERS Disability instead, even though I have been totally unable to work for 15 years, heck I cant even drive a car due to the exhaust fumes on the road. Helen Ray Posted March 24, 2008 10:35 PM
• As an air traffic specialist I was sent on assignment alone to provide briefings to hundreds of balloon pilots at a local balloon fest. I was sent with three huge computer systems to load, unload, load, and unload again for the event. During loading into my POV (Gov vehicle not avbl, or so I was told) I ruptured a disk in my lower back. I managed to make it back to my facility where other specialists helped unload my truck, and helped me into the building. I filed an OWCP claim, it was rejected because they "do not understand how loading computer equip. at a hotel is associated with your job as an ATC supervisor." My manager wrote a two page letter to the panel explaining the situation and that I was indeed working. It was denied. I filed an appeal, it too was denied. I filed another appeal-denied. It went all the way to the final board for review and it was turned down. In agony, unable to work, burning up over 200 hours of sick leave I had surgery using my leave and insurance. I finally received a reason on why I was denied and they claimed they had evidence of a pre-existing condition. I could not believe it. I could not recall any condition where I ruptured a disk in my back. After the FSS RIF in 2005 I was sorting through documents and in my personal file I found an injury report filed in 1985 where a controller chair I was sitting in collapsed dumping me backward from about three feet high of which I complained of some lower back pain. This was the only reference to a back injury I could find, yet I was denied over and over again. I contacted attorneys, once they found out it was federal not a local claim they back out. I called over twenty attorneys and it was always the same, sorry. I did find one who would attempt to represent me but wanted $1800 up front and something like $800/hour for his time. Well OWCP is a sham, the bureacracy running it is also a sham, and attorney's and the justice (ha, what a joke) system doesn't exist. All I wanted was my sick leave returned to me nothing more. Screw OWCP and those who manage it. Mark Posted February 29, 2008 6:24 AM