“I work for the federal government. Is this workers’ comp?”

Not California’s. If the United States is your employer, including the Postal Service, a work injury is a claim under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA), decided by the U.S. Department of Labor. No California workers’ comp judge has a role in it. Below: where to file, the deadlines DOL states, who near a federal job is under California comp instead, and what a California workers’ comp lawyer can and cannot do for you.

FECA, not California workers’ comp

FECA covers federal civilian employees. The law defines “employee” to include “a civil officer or employee in any branch of the Government of the United States.” That reaches civilian employees of federal agencies and of the military departments.

The Postal Service is included by name. 39 U.S.C. § 1005(c): “Officers and employees of the Postal Service shall be covered by subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5, relating to compensation for work injuries.” That subchapter is FECA.

FECA is the only remedy against the government. The government’s liability under FECA is “exclusive and instead of all other liability” of the United States to the employee, including in a civil action or under a workers’ compensation statute. So there is no California workers’ comp claim against your agency, and no lawsuit against it for the injury itself.

The Department of Labor decides the claim, not your agency. FECA is administered by DOL’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP), through its federal employees’ program, the Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation. The regulations describe the process plainly: “Unlike many workers’ compensation laws, the employer is not a party to the claim, and OWCP acts as an impartial evaluator of the evidence” (20 C.F.R. § 10.700(a)).

Where to go and what to file

DOL’s filing instructions begin with ECOMP, the Employees’ Compensation Operations and Management Portal at ecomp.dol.gov, a free web application. You register, then file. DOL is direct about one point: “You do not need approval from your supervisor or anyone else at your agency to initiate your FECA workers’ compensation claim.”

Your agency completes its part and sends the packet to OWCP, which assigns a claim number. Put that number on every page you send and keep a copy of everything. DOL takes uploads through ECOMP, or mail to U.S. Department of Labor, OWCP/DFEC, PO Box 8311, London, KY 40742-8311. It does not take case-specific email. DOL’s FECA pages are also published in Spanish and Tagalog.

DOL’s own standard for a traumatic injury claim is a decision within 75 days of receipt in all but the most complex cases. Occupational illness claims take longer: 90 days for simple ones, up to six or ten months for the rest.

The deadlines DOL states

Do not let the three years lull you. The 30-day deadlines decide whether you are paid in the first weeks. If DOL denies the claim, it says the decision will explain your appeal rights and their time limits. Read that part first.

Pay and medical care while the claim runs

Continuation of pay (COP). After a traumatic injury, your agency, not DOL, continues your regular pay during disability for up to 45 calendar days. It is taxed like pay, and the agency generally may not make you use your own sick or annual leave instead. COP is not paid for occupational disease claims.

Postal Service employees: the first three days. A Postal Service employee gets no compensation or COP for the first 3 days of temporary disabilityTD / TTD / TPD Temporary Disability, Total or Partial. Wage replacement while recovering. Two-thirds of average weekly earnings; 2026 maximum $1,764.11/week. and may use annual leave, sick leave or leave without pay for them. If the disability exceeds 14 days or is followed by permanent disabilityPD Permanent Disability. Compensation for lasting impairment. A different and much lower weekly rate — 2026 maximum $290/week., the leave can be reinstated, or the leave-without-pay days paid.

Compensation after COP. Wage-loss compensation for total disability is 66⅔ percent of your pay rate with no dependents, or 75 percent with at least one. You claim it on the CA-7, with medical evidence for every period.

Your doctor. DOL says you have the right to select the first doctor who treats you for the injury, even if you were first seen by a physician your employer designated. Changing doctors after that needs OWCP’s approval, in writing.

Your job. DOL says FECA gives injured workers the right to reclaim their federal jobs within one year of the onset of wage loss.

FECA and California comp, side by side

If you work for a contractor, not the government

A private company’s employees are under California workers’ comp, even on federal property. California defines an employer to include “every person including any public service corporation, which has any natural person in service” (Labor Code § 3300(c)), and an employee as every person in an employer’s service under any contract of hire.

Federal land does not change that. Under 40 U.S.C. § 3172(a), California’s workers’ comp authority may apply the state’s laws to federal land, buildings and projects in the state “in the same way and to the same extent as if the premises were under the exclusive jurisdiction of the State.” The same section says it does not modify FECA.

So if a private contractor hired you, whether a security, janitorial, food-service or construction company working on a base or in a federal building, your claim is usually a California claim against that company’s insurance. The question is who employs you, not whose building it is. Check your paystub. Security guards. · Staffing agencies. · They say I’m an independent contractor.

Firefighters on military and NASA installations. California’s cancer presumption now names active firefighting members of a fire department that serves a Department of Defense or NASA installation. That presumption belongs to California workers’ comp, so it helps when your employer is covered by California comp, for example a private company. A firefighter who is a federal civilian employee is under FECA, which is exclusive. The public safety presumptions.

Other federal systems

Longshore and harbor work. Workers on and around the ports may be covered by the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, and for many port workers California applies concurrently. Seamen are under a different law again. Port and longshore workers.

Military exchanges and other nonappropriated fund employers. If you are paid from nonappropriated funds of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, a Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard exchange, or a similar instrumentality under the armed forces’ jurisdiction, your injury falls under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act by extension. That liability is exclusive and takes the place of any other workers’ compensation claim against the United States or the instrumentality.

Service members. Military service is its own system. FECA covers civil officers and employees, and for veterans discharged under conditions other than dishonorable, the United States pays disability compensation for an injury suffered in line of duty in active military, naval, air or space service under title 38. I’m a veteran with VA benefits.

What a California workers’ comp lawyer can and cannot do here

This firm practices California workers’ compensation. A FECA claim is a federal process. For the claim itself, start with the Department of Labor. DOL says your supervisor or your agency’s Injury Compensation Specialist may be able to answer questions about it, and if not, to contact OWCP.

What a California license does not change:

• No California judge decides a FECA claim, and no California benefits are owed by your federal employer.
• The fee rules are federal. A fee for services in a FECA claim is valid only if approved by the Secretary of Labor. The claimant alone pays it, OWCP does not, and “Contingency fees are not allowed in any form.” California comp works differently: a judge sets the fee, and it comes out of the recovery. What a lawyer costs in California comp.
• You may not need anyone. DOL: “You do not need the services of an attorney or representative to claim benefits under the FECA.” If you want one, you may appoint one representative at a time, in writing, such as a spouse, a union representative or an attorney.

Where California law still matters:

• Which system you are in. Federal employee, contractor’s employee, exchange employee, port worker: the answer decides everything else.
• A second job. An injury at a private, non-federal job is a California claim against that employer. I have two jobs.
• Someone other than the government caused it. The driver who hit your mail truck, or the owner of the dog on your route, may be liable under California law. FECA has its own rules for that case. DOL may require you to bring the action or assign it to the United States. From any recovery, after the costs of suit and a reasonable attorney’s fee, you refund the COP and compensation the United States paid, and any surplus is credited against future compensation for the same injury. For a federal employee, § 8132 applies in place of the California workers’ comp lien rules described on our car accident and dog bite pages.

Frequently asked questions

Is a Postal Service injury a California workers’ comp claim?

No. The law puts Postal Service officers and employees under FECA. You file a CA-1 or CA-2 with the Department of Labor.

Can I sue the Postal Service or my agency for the injury?

Generally no. FECA is the government’s exclusive liability for the injury. A claim against someone else who caused it is a different question, with FECA’s refund rule attached.

How long do I have?

Give written notice within 30 days, and file the CA-1 within 30 days if you want continuation of pay. The claim for compensation itself has a three-year limit, with exceptions.

I work for a contractor on a military base. Is that FECA or California?

Usually California. FECA covers employees of the government. A private company’s employees are under California workers’ comp, and federal law lets California apply it on federal property.

Can a lawyer take a percentage of my FECA benefits?

No. Contingency fees are not allowed in any form, and any fee must be approved before it is collected.

We handle California claims in English, Spanish, and Korean. If you are not sure which system you are in, or part of what happened is a California claim, the consultation is free and commits you to nothing. If the answer is that your claim belongs with the Department of Labor, we will tell you that.