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Washington, D.C.—The nation’s largest independent union of federal employees is strongly opposed to potential changes in the federal workers’ compensation program that could result in an injured worker having to give up benefits when he or she reaches retirement age, the union leader told a House subcommittee today.

Forcing an injured worker at retirement age to give up benefits under the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) to live on retirement savings put aside prior to the on-the-job injury “would cause grave economic hardship to many disabled employees,” said President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).

The problem the injured federal workers would face, she said, is that once they are on FECA, they receive no further retirement credits or contribution matches, nor are they able to make elective contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan.

Kelley expressed her views in testimony submitted to the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. “FECA is one of the most important programs for federal workers,” she said.

The NTEU leader expressed her opposition to any proposals that would reduce benefits to federal employees hurt on the job particularly a forced retirement provision or efforts to eliminate the family benefit feature of FECA.

As she has in the past, the NTEU leader expressed the union’s ongoing support in the search for “broad and comprehensive” ways to reduce the costs of the FECA program. Any such review, she emphasized, “should never start or be rigidly limited to benefit payments.”

Kelley added: “Our belief is the best way to do so is not by reducing benefits or denying claims, but by preventing the occurrence of injuries. There is no greater disrespect to human dignity than to have to suffer injury from an unsafe workplace or from employer negligence.”

The cornerstone of any such review, she said, “should be making the federal workplace safe by actions to move us toward the goal of no worker coming to work with the possibility it will be his or her last day on the job because of a workplace injury.”

On another important aspect of this matter, Kelley told the subcommittee of NTEU’s experiences in encountering management resistance or disinterest in light duty assignments, alternative worksites, disability accommodations and other actions that could allow FECA recipients to return to work.

“A change in management practices and culture is needed,” she said noting that the first step would be “to end the myth that able-bodied workers are receiving FECA payments, and accept the fact that many injured workers would like to return to work and could do so with open-minded and innovative agency practices.”

Kelley called on Congress to explore these types of solutions before moving to cut these important social insurance benefits to injured federal workers.

As the largest independent federal union, NTEU represents 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.