Federal and State Compensation Plans

Describe features of the four federal workers compensation plans and other two types of
state workers compensation benefits.
The Federal government has a number of workers compensation plans that are overseen
by the department of labor. The plans offer compensation to civilian employees that work for
different government agencies. Some of the plans include the Federal Employees Compensation
Program, Federal Black Lung Program, Long Shore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act, and
Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program (Hunt & Dillender, 2017).
The Federal Employees Compensation Program assists federal employees who are
civilians and have sustained work-related injuries. The plan provides the affected civilian
employees with appropriate medical and monetary benefits. These benefits help the employees to
recover faster and return to work. The second program is the Federal Black Lung Program. It is a
program that protects coal miners and their families when they suffer from injuries or die from
illnesses that are work-related (Hunt & Dillender, 2017). As for the Longshore and Harbor
Workers Compensation Act, it covers employees who are in various maritime professions. The
employees include harbor workers and longshoremen (Hunt & Dillender, 2017). The program
gives the employees medical and other benefits that include vocational rehabilitation.
The fourth program is the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation
Program. It provides compensation to both current and former employees who work in plants
and production facilities that produce nuclear weapons. The program targets employees who
are/were exposed to nuclear radiation.

3
Apart from the Federal government, state governments too have various compensation
plans with different benefits. The two most common benefits are medical and temporary total
disability benefits (Hunt & Dillender, 2017). Workers receive medical benefits until they recover
and are able to return to work. Temporary Total Disability benefits, on the other hand, are paid to
workers during the period when they are incapable of working due to workplace injuries.
Why is it necessary to have both federal and state compensation plans?
Different states have different workplace compensation programs. Some states have more
generous benefits than others while others have programs that are absent in other states. Due to
these differences, it is important to have both federal and state compensation plans. For instance,
coal-producing states have compensation programs that cover coal workers and their families
while non-coal producing states lack such programs. Due to these differences, there are workers
who may not receive their due compensation in the event of workplace injuries or illnesses.
Thus, having both federal and state compensation plans ensures that all workers in the United
States have guaranteed compensation any time they suffer from workplace injuries.

4

References

Hunt, H. & Dillender, M. (2017). Workers’ Compensation: Analysis for its Second Century.
Upjohn Institute.