Communicating with OWCP and Contacting Your Federal Employees Program Offices Tutorial Podcast Episode

In this episode of the Federal Workers Compensation Coffee Break Podcast, Dr. Taylor, a seasoned OWCP and federal healthcare consultant, provides an update on effectively communicating with the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) as an injured federal employee. The podcast focuses on using the Employees' Compensation Operations & Management Portal (ECOMP) for online correspondence, including registering an account, uploading documents with a nine-digit case number, and tracking submissions via a Digital Control Number (DCN). Dr. Taylor advises against using work or military emails due to restrictions and highlights the importance of adhering to file size (5 MB) and format (e.g., PDF, Word) guidelines. Communication via ECOMP is preferred over email, as OWCP does not accept evidence or provide substantive responses through email. For phone inquiries, the OWCP general line is (202) 513-6860, with an interactive phone tree for case status and other information. Written inquiries should be mailed to the OWCP Federal Employees Program in London, KY, particularly for forms OWCP 915 and 957, which require postal submission. For unresolved issues, employees can escalate concerns through ECOMP or seek congressional assistance. Responses to ECOMP uploads are tracked, but delays may require escalation or congressional intervention.

Dr. Taylor’s contact information is: fedcompconsultants@protonmail.com 

If you need a medical provider or assistance with an OWCP /  DOL claim in Tamps, Pensacola Florida. south Mississippi or Daphne Alabama    you can make an appointment to see Dr. Taylor, or Dr. Sullivan   at the clinic at  FWC Medical Centers. To make a consultation with Dr. Taylor  call the clinic at 813-215-4356 or go  to our website at  https://fedcompconsultants.com/

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Transcript

Welcome to another episode of Federal Workers Compensation Coffee break Podcast. I am your host Dr. Taylor. I am an OWCP & Federal Health Care consultant who has been assisting and working with clients for over 30 years in the work comp arena. I offer this podcast for free to give back to government workers and other doctors or future doctors who want to participate in Federal Workers Compensation claims by doing a podcast to assist with all types of topics of government related healthcare filings.

 Here at this podcast, we discuss all sorts of topics related to federal workers compensation, Department of Labor, OWCP, FECA ACT, FERS, longshore-maritime, DOD contractors, VA benefits. I cover these relevant topics in a short coffee break style format (modeled after the lunch and learn style) to assist you, the government employee/contractor with filing your claim, understanding your rights, responsibilities & relevant rules and provisions

Today’s podcast is an update on how to communicate effectively with OWCP as an injured federal employee.  Let’s get our coffee going and dive into today’s topic.

Communicating with OWCP Representatives and Contacting Your Federal Employees Program Offices

Case Related Inquiries/Correspondence:

First, we will talk about Online Correspondence and communication:

This process of filing claims and managing your case on the OWCP provided online portal called ECOMP which is short for Employee’s Compensation Operation & Management Portal.

Registering for an ECOMP Account

Before you can use ECOMP as an injured worker or claimant, you must first register and create an ECOMP account. By doing so, this places you in control of necessary communication and providing of OWCP required documents for your claim. You can view your case details, the OWCP Claims representative and employee agency representative communication involved in your claim, and other basic information via the ECOMP Dashboard provided to injured workers.

To register, click the "Register" link on the ECOMP home page at https://dlhwc.dol.gov/.

First, enter your name, telephone number, and email address. This email address will be used to send notifications to you about your workers' compensation claim file in ECOMP. I do not recommend using work emails or military emails. Many of these type of emails have restrictions built in to prevent you from opening or sending OWCP forms or reports in email attachments.

After entering your email address, enter your date of birth and home address. You must also enter your social security number (SSN) and confirm it by entering it a second time.

Next, choose a password.  You will need to use this password, along with your email address, to sign into ECOMP.

When you have entered all information, click CREATE ACCOUNT. ECOMP will now send a message to your email address asking you to confirm your ECOMP account registration. Click on the link within the email message to confirm your account and complete the registration process. You will then be taken to ECOMP and a message will be displayed confirming that your account has been created. After clicking

OK, you may then login to ECOMP using your email address and ECOMP password.

Your Employee Dashboard will now be displayed. A message at the top will indicate that your identity has been successfully verified.

ECOMP portal allows you to communicate vie an online portal to File required paperwork for your claim and upload documents to your case, respond to an OWCP letter electronically, Learn the status of your medical bills, pharmacy requests, disability claim, and much more using your Claimant Dashboard. 

You can also now input your Designation of Representative in ECOMP now. Designation of Representative – This category should be used to notify OWCP that the injured worker has designated a representative ( e.g. attorney, advocate or union steward), who are assisting you with your claim to communicate with OWCP about the case.

Now here is something to remember, when you upload your written inquiry, request, or other documentation through the ECOMP Upload Documents section to place your nine digit Case # on each page for same day receipt by OWCP and the ability to track its status by a DIGITAL CONTROL NUMBER (DCN)  You want to keep a diary of the Document Control Number (DCN) number for future use.

You can enter the DCN into the Track Status feature in ECOMP to see whether the document has been received by DFEC.  The Claims Examiner will NOT need to have the DCN to locate the document. BUT if you have a claims examiner who is not easy to communicate with and constantly says she does not see your documents…. you can pull it up quickly for the claims examiner by entering in the DCN number to show the documents. I see this a lot as a delay tactic by claims examiners in reimbursements requests.  Written correspondence uploaded into ECOMP is required to be answered within 30 days of receipt. Now, another thing to remember about communication through ECOMP portal is to upload documents directly to a case. You do not need to register, and your doctors office or advocate can upload a document into ECOMP for you by the following steps. 

User must have following information:

• Case #

• Last Name

• Date of Birth

• Date of Injury

Limit file size to 5 MB.

• Limit number of pages to 6 per document.

• Use only these supported formats: jpg, jpeg, gif, png, tif, txt, rtf, pdf, doc, docx. Remember that if your documents have been scanned, they are now picture files, and picture files are much bigger than a pdf or word document. You will struggle to upload scanned documents due to file size. Try to make the  file a pdf or a word document for reducing file size for uploads. 

Submit online escalations in ECOMP for issues related to underpayments, health benefits, life insurance, medications, authorizations, billing, and compensation and lack of response to requests.

OWCP cannot accept evidence for file as an email attachment (send via regular mail). OWCP cannot provide substantive responses to injured workers via e-mail. Claims Examiners do not communicate with injured workers via email. All FECA claim forms are to be filed via ECOMP.

It is better to correspond with OWCP via phone or ECOMP

NOW we are going to go over the  phone communication Phone: General and Case-Related Inquiries: (202) 513-6860 (Monday-Friday, 9:30am to 6:30pm, ET)

To most efficiently navigate the automated telephone system, please be prepared with your nine-digit case number and listen to the prompts for the option that best describes your issue to get the most effective service. OWCP’s IVR phone tree system includes “self-help” prompts. Phone interactive phone tree  system has an Agency Menu, that includes access to information including: case status, compensation payments issued, Form CA-7 status, how to submit medical bills and case correspondence, and an option to speak with the Responsible Claims Examiner during business hours

You may be directed to leave a voicemail message. Calls will be returned within 48 hours. Please leave a detailed message with your case number, the reason for your call, and a callback number. It is important to remember that there is a transcript of every voicemail, and phone conversation you leave for your claims examiner in ECOMP. Those transcripts are useful when you have a non-responsive claims examiner, and you demonstrate evidence of why you are escalating an inquiry. 

Next is SNAIL Mail also known as Written Inquiries: The address is: 

U.S. Department of Labor

OWCP/Federal Employees Program

P.O. Box 8311, London, KY 40742-8311

Remember it is important to know the mailing address for OWCP 915 and OWCP 957 forms because these must be snail mailed in for proper processing. Uploading to ECOMP will result in non-processing of these claims for reimbursement.

Congressional Inquiries: If you are having a very difficult claims examiner that refuses to respond, or uses the four D’s of insurance training to deny, delay or deflect your inquiries, you can reach out to your congressman for assistance as a government employee. 

Now here is something to remember. 

Common question asked of me is how will I be notified of the response to the document that I uploaded via ECOMP? The official answer is: Documents uploaded via ECOMP which require a response by OWCP will automatically be entered into the ECOMP  correspondence tracking system upon receipt. The document will continue to be tracked until a response has been issued. Response may come in the form of an outgoing letter or documentation of a telephone call that provides information that is responsive to the inquiry. Now the real world answer… many times there are people who upload documents into ECOMP and check for a response and find that it is being ignored for weeks, months and even years. If you find yourself to be one of those people you can two different things, first escalate the lack of response in ECOMP to have the request responded to by a superior in the OWCP office. If you get no where with escalation then you can also use your congressman for assistance in your claim. 

Here is the email for Congressional Inquiries: Congressional offices may reach the Federal Employees Program using:

Email: ociacongressionalnotification@dol.gov

Phone: For Congressional Offices Only (202) 513-6838 (Monday-Friday, 9:30am to 6:30pm, ET) 

So,  I want to thank you for listening and want to remind you to share this podcast with other federal workers, if  you have benefitted  from this information please leave a 5 star review on the platform you found this podcast, so others will also find this information online. Also, if you need an approved  medical provider for your DOL -OWCP Or Longshore case in Florida you can still  find me in Tampa   and Pensacola. To make a consultation with me to discuss your case or if you know someone if Florida who is recently injured you can call the clinic at 813-215-4356 or 813-877-6900 or go  to our website at https://fedcompconsultants.com/   & https://mrtherapycenter.com/  Also if you are in  another state and you want me to assist you with claim questions or assistance for your  doctor you can email me at fedcompconsultants@protonmail.com 

Ok… I think that is enough for today…I need to warm up this coffee and get going. As usual I want to thank all of you who put on that uniform, that badge, deliver that mail, take care of our veterans and make this government run… a big thank you. I do this for free just for you…We could not do this  without all of the work all of you out there do…so this is my big  thank you. And remember if you  have an injured federal claim and you need assistance….I am  here to help!.

See you next time.

Off to get my coffee!