FROM THE COMPENSATION ROLL TO THE PAYROLL: INJURED FEDERAL EMPLOYEES= RETURN TO WORK MADE EASIER UNDER OPM PLAN

Washington, D.C. -- Temporary federal employees who are receiving workers= compensation due to a workplace injury will have their return to gainful employment made easier under proposed regulations announced today by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Those affected by the proposal are individuals who sustain a workplace injury and, as a result, are unable to return to their former jobs.

OPM=s proposal would permit the employing agency to place the worker into another temporary position. For this to occur, however, a position must be available, and the employee must be qualified to fulfill the duties of the new position. Under current regulations, persons leaving the compensation rolls to continue their federal employment can be restored by the agency only to their former jobs.

The proposal, which appears in today=s Federal Register, is part of a package that revises regulations on non-permanent employment to streamline the appointing process. The proposed package addresses agency adherence with OPM rules on extending term appointments beyond the four-year statutory limit; elimination of the Aoutside-the-register@ hiring mechanism for term appointments; and other provisions related to term or temporary appointments.

The Administration=s effort to help employees return to work following a job-related injury is expected to cut workers= compensations costs.

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Web page created 2 December 1997