Schedule Awards

The Federal Employeesí Compensation Act (FECA) provides for the payment of a Schedule Award. Schedule Awards are defined as an award of compensation payable for a set number of weeks for the loss or loss of use of a part of the body, whether total or partial.

The degree of impairment is established by medical evidence and expressed as a percentage loss of the member involved. Permanent impairment may originate either within the affected member (i.e., loss of use of your arm in a Carpal Tunnel Syndrome claim) or another part of the body (i.e., a back injury may result in impairment to a leg) for which a Schedule Award would be payable.

A claimant may also receive an Award for more than one part of the body in connection with a single injury (i.e., a back injury may result in impairment to a leg and an arm).

The body members covered by the Schedule Award and the compensation schedule include:

Arm	312 weeks	Fourth Finger	15 weeks
Leg	288 weeks	Hearing (1 ear)	52 weeks
Hand	244 weeks	Hearing (both)	200 weeks
Foot	205 weeks	Breast	52 weeks
Eye	160 weeks	Kindney (1)	156 weeks
Thumb	75 weeks	Larynx	160 weeks
First Finger	46 weeks	Lung (1)	156 weeks
Great Toe	38 weeks	Penis/Female Sex Organs	205 weeks
Second Finger	30 weeks	Testicle/Ovary (1)	52 weeks
Third Finger	25 weeks	Tongue	160 weeks
Toe (other)	16 weeks
Note: The above figures represent total loss of use.

An injured worker should only apply for a Schedule Award after having reached maximum medical improvement and are back to work full time (even in a limited duty capacity) or retiring. The Department of Labor will not pay compensation for wage loss (i.e., time in LWOP being paid by OWCP) and a Schedule Award at the same time; however, if the injury occurred on or after September 13, 1957, the Schedule Award may be paid concurrently with benefits under the U.S. Civil Service Retirement Act. In order to apply for a Schedule Award, you would need to submit a CA-7 and the check the "Yes" box in question 5.

The treating physician should be advised to use the American Medical Associationís Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, fourth edition, and to report findings in accordance with those guidelines. Injures sometimes leave objective or subjective impairment which cannot easily be measured by the AMA Guides. Some examples are: pain, atrophy, deformity, loss of sensation, loss of strength, marked sensitivity to heat or cold, and soft tissue damage such as scarring and discoloration. The effects of such factors should be explicitly considered along with the impairment measurable by the AMA Guides.

To support a Schedule Award, the file must contain competent medical evidence which:

1. Shows that the impairment has reached a permanent and fixed state and indicates the date on which this occurred (date of maximum medical improvement).
2. Describes the impairment in sufficient detail for the Claims Examiner to visualize the character and degree of disability; and
3. Gives a percentage evaluation of the impairment (in terms of the affected member or function, not the body as a whole, except for impairment to the lungs).

The treating physician should also provide a detailed description of the impairment which includes, where applicable, the loss in degree of active and passive motion of the affected member or function, the amount of any atrophy or deformity, decreases in strength or disturbances of sensation, or other pertinent description of impairment.

Once all of the medical evidence has been submitted to OWCP, the Claims Examiner will review the file for completeness and forward the entire case file to the District Medical Advisor for verification. If there is no conflict in medical option, you will be notified of the details concerning your Schedule Award. If there is a conflict, the Claims Examiner will schedule a second opinion or contact the physician for clarification.

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Percentage Table for Schedule Awards
(Percentages given in Weeks of Compensation)

Member	1%	2%	3%	4%	5%	10%	15%	20%	25%	30%	35%	40%
Arm	3.12	6.24	9.36	12.48	15.60	31.20	46.80	62.40	78.00	93.60	109.20	124.80
Leg	2.88	5.76	8.64	11.52	14.40	28.80	43.20	57.60	72.00	86.40	100.80	115.20
Hand	2.44	4.88	7.32	9.76	12.20	24.40	36.60	48.80	61.00	73.20	85.40	97.60
Foot/Penis	2.05	4.10	6.15	8.20	10.25	20.50	30.75	41.00	51.25	61.50	71.75	82.00
Larynx/Tongue	1.60	3.20	4.80	6.40	8.00	16.00	24.00	32.00	40.00	48.00	56.00	64.00
Eye	1.60	3.20	4.80	6.40	8.00	16.00	24.00	32.00	40.00	48.00	56.00	64.00
Kindney/Lung	1.56	3.12	4.68	6.24	7.80	15.60	23.40	31.20	39.00	46.80	54.60	62.40
Thumb	0.75	1.50	2.25	3.00	3.75	7.50	11.25	15.00	18.75	22.50	26.25	30.00
1st Finger	0.46	0.92	1.38	1.84	2.30	4.60	6.90	9.20	11.50	13.80	16.10	18.49
Great Toe	0.38	0.76	1.14	1.52	1.90	3.80	5.70	7.60	9.50	11.40	13.30	15.20
2nd Finger	0.30	0.60	0.90	1.20	1.50	3.00	4.50	6.00	7.50	9.00	10.50	12.00
3rd Finger	0.25	0.50	0.75	1.00	1.25	2.50	3.75	5.00	6.25	7.50	8.75	10.00
Other Toe	0.16	0.32	0.48	0.64	0.80	1.60	2.40	3.20	4.00	4.80	5.60	6.40
4th Finger	0.15	0.30	0.45	0.60	0.75	1.50	2.25	3.00	3.75	4.50	5.25	6.00
Hearing (1 ear)	0.52	1.04	1.56	2.08	2.60	5.20	7.80	10.40	13.00	15.60	18.20	20.80
Breast/Testicle	0.52	1.04	1.56	2.08	2.60	5.20	7.80	10.40	13.00	15.60	18.20	20.80
Hearing (both)	2.00	4.00	6.00	8.00	10.00	20.00	30.00	40.00	50.00	60.00	70.00	80.00

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Member	45%	50%	55%	60%	65%	70%	75%	80%	85%	90%	95%	100%
Arm	140.40	156.00	171.60	167.20	202.80	218.40	234.00	249.60	265.20	280.80	296.40	312.00
Leg	129.60	144.00	158.40	172.80	178.20	201.60	216.60	230.40	244.80	259.20	273.60	288.00
Hand	109.80	122.00	134.20	146.40	158.60	170.80	183.00	195.20	207.40	219.60	231.80	244.00
Foot/Penis	92.25	102.50	112.75	123.00	133.25	143.50	153.75	164.00	174.25	184.50	194.75	205.00
Larynx/Tongue	72.00	80.00	88.00	96.00	104.00	112.00	120.00	128.00	136.00	144.00	152.00	160.00
Eye	72.00	80.00	80.00	96.00	104.00	112.00	120.00	160.00	160.00	160.00	160.00	160.00
Kindney/Lung	70.20	78.00	85.80	93.60	101.40	109.20	117.20	124.80	132.60	140.40	148.20	156.00
Thumb	33.75	37.50	41.25	45.00	48.75	52.50	56.25	60.00	63.75	67.50	71.25	75.00
1st Finger	20.75	23.00	25.30	27.60	29.90	32.20	34.50	36.80	39.10	41.40	43.70	46.00
Great Toe	17.10	19.00	20.90	22.80	24.70	26.60	28.50	30.40	32.30	34.20	36.10	38.00
2nd Finger	13.50	15.00	16.50	18.00	19.50	21.00	22.50	24.00	25.50	27.00	28.50	30.00
3rd Finger	11.25	12.50	13.75	15.00	16.25	17.50	18.75	20.00	21.25	22.50	23.75	25.00
Other Toe	7.20	8.00	8.80	9.60	10.40	11.20	12.00	12.80	13.60	14.40	15.20	16.00
4th Finger	6.75	7.50	8.25	9.00	9.75	10.50	11.25	12.00	12.75	13.50	14.25	15.00
Hearing (1 ear)	23.40	26.00	28.60	31.20	33.80	36.40	39.00	41.60	44.20	46.80	49.40	52.00
Breast/Testicle	23.40	26.00	28.60	31.20	33.80	36.40	39.00	41.60	44.20	46.80	49.40	52.00
Hearing (both)	90.00	100.00	110.00	120.00	130.00	140.00	150.00	160.00	170.00	180.00	190.00	200.00

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