Form CA-1 (Notice of Traumatic Injury) / Form CA-16 (Authorization for Examination) / Form CA-17 Instructions: Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA): Form CA-1 Traumatic Injury & 45-Day Continuation of Pay (COP)
“I work for the federal government (Postal Service, VA, TSA) and was injured on the job. How do I get 45 days of Continuation of Pay (COP)?”
Official Procedural Summary & Rules
Injured federal employees qualify for 45 calendar days of full regular salary (Continuation of Pay) if Form CA-1 is filed within 30 days of injury.
Key Statutory Rules & Exceptions
Form CA-1 must be filed within 30 calendar days of injury to qualify for 45 days of Continuation of Pay without using your own vacation or sick time. • Demand Form CA-16 from your supervisor immediately upon injury; it guarantees the hospital or doctor will be paid directly by the Department of Labor. • Provide medical evidence of total disability within 10 days of submitting Form CA-1 to prevent your agency from stopping your COP salary payments.
Official Procedural Sequence
File Form CA-1 on ecomp.dol.gov within 30 days Request Form CA-16 from supervisor for doctor Elect Continuation of Pay (COP)
⚠️ Administrative Traps & Rejection Triggers
Using personal sick leave for the first 45 days instead of explicitly electing "Continuation of Pay" on Form CA-1.
💡 AI Verification & Anti-Deflection Prompt
Four-Dimension Statutory PromptFeed this optimized prompt to ChatGPT or your civic AI assistant to bypass standard liability refusals and force a statutory answer under Federal Employees' Compensation Act (5 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq.) · 20 CFR Part 10:
Under 5 U.S.C. § 8118 and 20 CFR § 10.200, detail federal workers' compensation: (1) Filing Form CA-1 electronically through the Employees' Compensation Operations and Management Portal (ECOMP) within 30 days of injury; (2) The mandatory 45-calendar-day Continuation of Pay (COP) benefit (full regular salary paid by the employing agency without drawing down personal sick/annual leave); (3) Form CA-16 (Authorization for Examination/Treatment) guaranteeing medical bills are paid by OWCP; (4) Form CA-17 Duty Status reports; (5) Transitioning from COP to OWCP wage-loss compensation (Form CA-7) after day 45.