3,500 federal workers to get virus- related injury benefifits

Many seek compensation for catching COVID- 19 on the job.

WASHINGTON — The government has agreed to pay injury compensation benefifits to nearly 3,500 federal employees on grounds that they contracted the novel coronavirus while at work, and has granted death benefifits to survivors of 14 employees for that reason.

More than 2,600 other claims for benefits under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act, including 68 for deaths, are pending, according to the Labor Department.

The claims reflect a continuing rise in infections among federal workers amid the general increase nationwide, in which the death toll has now crossed 250,000, even as large numbers of federal employees continue to work remotely.

More than 6,600 federal workers have sought compensation for catching the coronavirus on the job; in addition to those already granted or pending, 339 have been denied and 191 were withdrawn. That compares to about 4,000 claims, including 60 death claims, as of late July.

The updated figures were provided in response to a request from The Washington Post.

“This data confirms our oft expressed concerns that the Trump administration was rushing to reopen federal agencies without a plan,” Rep. Gerald Connolly, D- Va., chair of the House Government Operations subcommittee, said in an emailed statement. “At least 3,500 federal employees were needlessly exposed to coronavirus for Trump’s purely political purposes.”

The FECA program covers about 2.7 million federal employees, including more than 600,000 in the semi- corporate U. S. Postal Service. Last year the FECA program paid about $ 3 billion in benefifits to more than 200,000 people.

In recent months, many agencies have called back some employees from leave or telework, although the number still working remotely remains high by the government’s traditional practices. There is no formal accounting of how many employees are in each working status.