Workers Compensation Issued Improper Payments

A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that a program managed by the Labor Department to compensate on-the-job injuries (workers compensation) issued over $13 million in improper payments in 2006.

The report stated that the Labor programs relied on self-reported data from the claimants that did not include proper verification, a deficiency in performance goals that would help prevent over and under payments and a failure to assemble information on improper payments to federal employees injured on the job.

The Labor Department disagreed with their findings and issued a statement about their commitment to accurate workers compensation payments. They believe the report exaggerated the number of errors and overlooked a variety of improvements that were made in the program. They estimate they paid out $703,000 in improper payments, which is nowhere near the $13 million that the GAO estimates. They also disagree on the reasons for mistakes.

The GAO report found, most importantly, that none of their performance goals addressed compensation overpayments, underpayments or how to handle them at all. They found that performance goals concentrated on the quick processing of claims and customer service.

The Labor was reported as saying, “The GAO's interpretation of the accountability review error rate is inaccurate."









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