Injured employees bemoan slow claims process

The wheels of government turn slowly if you are an injured employee with a claim pending in the Labor Department office that handles federal workers' compensation claims, according to testimony offered Thursday at a House subcommittee hearing.

The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) continues to face scathing criticism for its administration of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act, which allows workers to apply for disability and medical benefits for workplace injuries.

More than just taking too long to process reports, during the hearing employee advocates acccused OWCP of working in tandem with federal agencies to deny valid claims.

"The agencies label them as crooks, thieves and too lazy to work," testified Greg Fox, a representative from the American Federation of Government Employees. "Nothing could be further from the truth, these are hardworking employees."

Due process is not being afforded these injured employees, Fox contended, who languish in the claims cycle for months, and sometimes years, before being told their claims are denied or paperwork is lost and claims must be filed again.

"Claimants go without pay, they have unpaid medical bills, they are forced to file bankruptcy, their homes are foreclosed... the divorce rate is skyrocketing," "It's nearly impossible for an... injury to heal with this kind of stress."

"Do you gentleman recognize that there is a problem?," Rep. Steve Horn, R-Calif., asked witnesses representing agencies that handle workers compensation claims. "Do we admit in the executive branch that there is a problem here?"

Michael Walsh, chairman of the Employee Compensation Appeals Board, defended his agency's role in the process, testifying there was "a dramatic downturn in our pending caseload."

Heavy caseload has been the source of many of OWCP's customer service problems, OWCP Deputy Director Shelby Hallmark said. OWCP deals with 250,000 injured workers annually, and each of the agency's employees handles between 8,000 and 9,000 calls per year.

OWCP has undertaken several initiatives to improve customer service, Hallmark said. The agency increased its staff by 10 percent last year. Electronic systems are replacing paper-based communications. Since February, all new cases are scanned and processed as electronic documents.

"I take issue with the statement that we are a program in crisis," Hallmark said. The projects and initiatives that we have in place will address these issues."