83 FR 17196 - DFEC Claims Identity Solution

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 75 (April 18, 2018)

The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) administers the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA). In this capacity, OWCP's Division of Federal Employees' Compensation (DFEC) routinely responds to a myriad of written and telephonic inquiries. Claims staff issue written correspondence when developing and adjudicating a claim, and when terminating, reducing, or suspending compensation entitlement. Because of security and safety concerns expressed by our employees, DFEC is proposing to change its longstanding procedure of placing employee names on correspondence and all decisions in FECA cases. A similar change would be applied to oral communications. To fulfill this requirement, the Division proposes to implement new pseudonym procedures by August 2018.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 18, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 17196]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-08130]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of Workers' Compensation Programs


DFEC Claims Identity Solution

AGENCY: Division of Federal Employees' Compensation, Office of Workers' 
Compensation Programs, Labor.

ACTION: Notice; Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) 
administers the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA). In this 
capacity, OWCP's Division of Federal Employees' Compensation (DFEC) 
routinely responds to a myriad of written and telephonic inquiries. 
Claims staff issue written correspondence when developing and 
adjudicating a claim, and when terminating, reducing, or suspending 
compensation entitlement.
    Because of security and safety concerns expressed by our employees, 
DFEC is proposing to change its longstanding procedure of placing 
employee names on correspondence and all decisions in FECA cases. A 
similar change would be applied to oral communications. To fulfill this 
requirement, the Division proposes to implement new pseudonym 
procedures by August 2018.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed below on 
or before June 18, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments concerning this notice by mail, 
delivery service, or by hand to Ms. Yoon Ferguson, United States 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Room S-3201, Washington, 
DC 20210, telephone/fax to (202) 354-9647, by email to 
[email protected]. Please use only the designated method of 
transmission for comments (mail, fax, or email). Please note that 
comments after the comment period will not be considered.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OWCP DFEC fully recognizes the importance of 
the safety and welfare of DFEC employees in its mandate to fulfill the 
requirements of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA), 5 
U.S.C. 8101 et seq. Balancing the safety of its employees and the 
communication needs of our stakeholders, DFEC is proposing the below 
methods in its written and telephonic communications:
    1. All signatures and names currently appearing on outgoing 
correspondence will be replaced with ``Division of Federal Employees' 
Compensation''.
    2. To preserve the Employees' Compensation Appeals Board's (ECAB) 
ability to identify the adjudicator of certain decisions, DFEC will use 
a QR code to identify decision authors.
    3. A naming convention for the staff will be used to provide every 
employee with a pseudonym for use in telephone and other oral 
communications. Employees will utilize the entire first name and last 
name initial only. If more than one individual has that combination 
(e.g., two Thomas J.'s in an office) then the middle initial will be 
added.
    4. Outgoing correspondence will not reveal the pseudonym when 
printed. Instead the pseudonym will be embedded into a QR Code on the 
letter, allowing any person with a QR scanner on their mobile device to 
view the pseudonym.
    This notice will be published in the Federal Register.

    Dated: April 12, 2018.
Julia K. Hearthway,
Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, U.S. Department of 
Labor.
[FR Doc. 2018-08130 Filed 4-17-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-CH-P