Overland Park Federal Workers Compensation: What You Need to Know

By Dr. Matt Gianforte, DC · Federal Injury Centers of Kansas City · Updated October 2026

If you’re a federal employee who lives or works in Overland Park and you’ve been hurt on the job, this page is your starting point. We’ll cover which system applies to you, how to report the injury, how to choose a doctor, what pay you may receive and how decisions are appealed.

Federal Injury Centers of Kansas City is in nearby Shawnee, also in Johnson County. Here are the basics in plain words.

First, which system covers you?

Overland Park is in Kansas. But if you’re a federal civilian employee, Kansas workers’ compensation law doesn’t govern your claim. Neither does Missouri’s, even if you cross the state line for work.

Federal employees are covered by the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA). It’s run by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). There’s no employer insurance carrier involved, and OWCP claims examiners make the decisions.

That applies whether you work at a post office, for the VA, the IRS, the Social Security Administration, TSA, or any other federal agency. For a plain-language overview of the law, read what FECA is and how it works.

Reporting the injury

You see, FECA sorts injuries by how they happened.

• Form CA-1 is for a traumatic injury: something that happened during one workday or shift, like a fall on an icy parking lot or a strain while lifting.
• Form CA-2 is for an occupational disease: a condition caused by work factors over more than one shift, like a repetitive-motion injury.

You can file through ECOMP, the Employees’ Compensation Operations and Management Portal, or on paper through your employer. Your employer then has 10 working days to complete its portion and send it to OWCP when the injury is likely to involve medical bills, lost time or continuation of pay.

Two deadlines matter most:

• 30 days: File the CA-1 within 30 days of the injury to be eligible for continuation of pay.
• 3 years: The overall time limit to file a notice of injury or occupational disease. For conditions that develop slowly, the clock starts when you knew, or reasonably should have known, the condition was connected to your work.

Our guides to the CA-1 and the CA-2 walk through each form.

Choosing a doctor

Here’s what I need you to know. Under FECA, you get the initial choice of physician. OWCP does not keep a list of doctors you’re required to use. Any qualified physician who hasn’t been excluded from the program can treat you, including doctors in Overland Park, Shawnee or anywhere else in the metro.

A few related points:

• For a traumatic injury, your employer should give you a Form CA-16 to authorize medical care, generally within four hours of the injury. The CA-16 names the doctor or facility you chose.
• In an emergency, any qualified physician can give initial treatment. Whether bills are ultimately paid still depends on your claim being accepted.
• Once you’ve chosen a doctor, changing to another takes a written request to OWCP, unless your doctor refers you to a specialist. Your employer can’t approve a change.
• Form CA-17 is a duty status report. Your doctor fills it out to show your work restrictions. It isn’t a way to request a provider.

About chiropractic care: FECA covers chiropractors only for manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation shown by x-ray. Our article on choosing an OWCP doctor in Kansas City covers more.

Pay while you’re hurt

Continuation of pay (COP). For a traumatic injury, your agency continues your regular pay for up to 45 calendar days. It isn’t automatic. You have to file the CA-1 within 30 days and elect COP on the form. COP isn’t available for occupational disease claims. Postal Service employees don’t receive COP for the first three days of temporary disability, though they can use leave for those days.

If you’re claiming COP, make sure medical evidence of your disability reaches your employer within 10 calendar days. If OWCP later finds you weren’t entitled to COP, the days are charged to your leave or treated as an overpayment, your choice.

Wage-loss compensation. After COP, or if you aren’t eligible for it, you claim lost wages on Form CA-7. If accepted, compensation is 66 2/3% of your pay rate, or 75% if you have at least one dependent.

Medical travel. Reasonable travel to authorized medical care can be reimbursed using Form OWCP-957. See our guide to OWCP mileage reimbursement.

If OWCP needs more information or another exam

If OWCP decides the evidence isn’t enough, it will send a letter explaining what’s missing. You’ll get at least 60 days to respond. Answer every question in that letter.

OWCP can also send you to a second-opinion exam with a doctor it selects. If that doctor’s opinion conflicts with your doctor’s, and the two reports are equally well-reasoned, OWCP appoints a third, impartial “referee” physician. These exams are ordered by OWCP. An employee can’t demand one.

Decisions and appeals

If OWCP denies all or part of your claim, the decision letter explains your rights. There are three main routes:

1. Hearing or review of the written record: handled by OWCP’s Branch of Hearings and Review. Request it within 30 days of the decision.
2. Reconsideration: a new review by the district office based on new evidence or legal argument. It must be received within one year of the decision.
3. ECAB appeal: the Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board is an administrative appeals board within the Department of Labor. File within 180 days of the decision.

ECAB isn’t a federal court. Under 5 U.S.C. 8128(b), FECA decisions aren’t reviewable by the courts, so the appeals process stays within the Department of Labor. For more detail, read our guide on how to appeal a federal workers’ compensation decision.

Returning to work

Your doctor’s restrictions guide what kind of work you can do. Your employer may offer a job within those restrictions, and that offer must be in writing. If you refuse suitable work, your compensation can be affected, so bring any written offer to your doctor so they can respond to whether it fits your limits.

How we can help

Federal Injury Centers of Kansas City is a medical clinic, not a law firm. We examine and treat injured federal employees from Overland Park and across the metro, and we provide the medical documentation OWCP looks for: CA-17 duty status reports, CA-20 attending physician reports and causal-relationship narratives.

Our clinic is led by Dr. Matt Gianforte, a chiropractor. Under FECA, chiropractic care is covered only for manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation shown by x-ray. We’ll be clear with you about what that covers.

Learn more on our Overland Park federal workers’ compensation page. Request a consultation or call (913) 355-6648.

Sources

• 20 CFR Part 10 (eCFR)
• 20 CFR 10.300: CA-16 and initial choice of physician
• 20 CFR 501.3: Time limits for ECAB appeals
• 5 U.S.C. 8128: Review of awards
• DOL: Federal Employees’ Compensation (FECA) program

This article is general information, not legal or medical advice. For decisions about your claim, contact OWCP or your representative.