Senator Collins suspects some recipients gaming the system, seeks reforms to bring overly generous federal system in line with states

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has called for a thorough review of the program that provides federal employees with protection against loss of income from work-related injuries. The Federal Employee Compensation Act (FECA) pays benefits to roughly 49,000 federal employees to ensure that injured employees receive income while they recuperate pending their return to work. Senator Collins asked the Government Accountability Office to audit FECA and report on the length of time individuals remain on the program, the number of recipients who exceeded the standard federal retirement age, and how the federal program compares to state workers' compensation best practices. Senator Collins also asked GAO to compare records against the Death Master File and the civilian payroll database to search for deceased individuals receiving benefits or recipients "double dipping." > Read more

Medical Residents: Are They Workers Who Study or Students Who Work? by Thomas A. Robinson. Reconciling the definition of "employee" found in the Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA), which generally excludes any service performed in the employ of a school, college, or university "if the service performed is performed by a student who is enrolled and regularly attending classes at [the school]," [26 U.S.C.S. § 3121(b)(10)] and a 2004 Department of Treasury regulation providing that the services of a full-time employee-including an employee normally scheduled to work 40 hours or more per week-are not incident to and for the purpose of pursuing a course of study [26 CFR § 31.3121(b)(10)-2(d)(3)(iii)], the United States Supreme Court, on January 11th, affirmed a decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and held that medical residents who generally work more than 40 hours per week are employees of the hospital or medical school where they perform their services and are not "students" for purposes of FICA, in spite of the fact that their services may have an educational, instructional, or training aspect. Accordingly, as their employer, the hospital or medical school must pay FICA taxes on their earnings. > Read more

Congress Holds Hearing on Developments in State Workers' Compensation Systems, Including Sixth Edition of AMA Guides to Permanent Impairment, by Mark A. Reinhalter, Counsel for Longshore, Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, D.C. Workers' compensation benefits are generally governed by state law and ordinarily draw little attention from the federal government. During the recent lame-duck session of Congress, however, a subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to address developments in state workers' compensation systems. The hearing explored matters of interest to workers' compensation practitioners of all types. Moreover, in addition to the hearing, Congress has requested a Government Accountability Office study which could spur federal action that could impact state compensation systems. > Read more

1. The Irrelevancy of Comp, by David DePaolo, WorkCompCentral.

2. Physician dispensing in work comp - worse than you think, by Joe Paduda, Managed Care Matters blog.

3. Five Commonly Asked Questions About Bipolar and Workplace Disability Benefits, by Robert Elliott, Workers' Comp Kit Blog.

4. Political Battle on Illegal Immigration Shifts to States, by Julia Preston, The New York Times.

5. Wii-habilitation Therapy - A Growing Trend, by Yvonne Guibert, Work Comp Complex Care Blog.

6. The Unusual Coalition [Compound Drugs in California], by Julius Young, WorkersComp Zone blog.

7. Are Fusion Surgeries Costing Workers and Employers More Than They're Worth? by Philip J. Fulton, Columbus Workers' Compensation Law Blog.

8. Are Fusion Surgeries Costing Workers and Employers More Than They're Worth? Part 2, by Philip J. Fulton, Columbus Workers' Compensation Law Blog.

9. New Drug May Be Effective Against Mesothelioma, by Jon L. Gelman, Workers' Compensation blog.

10. Can Sitting Too Much Kill You? by Travis Saunders, Scientific American guest blog.