# Presentation: 700149

## CHARGEBACK PRESENTATION FOR THE FEBRUARY 15, 2007 SHARE KICK-OFF

## The FECA provided for furnishing employing agencies with chargeback statements before August 15 of each year, covering the fiscal year recently completed.  Public Law 94-273, the Fiscal Year Adjustment Act, approved April 21, 1976, changed the fiscal year to encompass the period October 1 through September 30. However, section 42 of this law amended 5 U.S.C. 8147(b) to (1) provide for reports covering the period July 1 through June 30, and (2) require agencies or instrumentalities not dependent on annual appropriations to deposit the required payment in the Compensation Fund during the first 15 days of October each year. Thus, chargeback reporting will continue to cover the period July 1 through June 30, although the official fiscal year has been changed to cover the period October 1 through September 30.

The FECA program is financed by the Employees' Compensation Fund, which consists of monies appropriated by Congress or contributed from operating revenues. The chargeback system is the mechanism by which the costs of compensation for work-related injuries and deaths are assigned to employing agencies annually at the end of the fiscal accounting period, which runs from July 1to June 30 for chargeback purposes.  Each year OWCP furnishes each agency with a statement of payments made from the fund on account of injuries suffered by its employees. The agencies include these amounts in their budget requests to Congress. The resulting sums appropriated or obtained from operating revenues are deposited in the fund.

**The FECA provided for furnishing employing agencies with chargeback statements before August 15 of each year, covering the fiscal year recently completed.  Public Law 94-273, the Fiscal Year Adjustment Act, approved April 21, 1976, changed the fiscal year to encompass the period October 1 through September 30. However, section 42 of this law amended 5 U.S.C. 8147(b) to (1) provide for reports covering the period July 1 through June 30, and (2) require agencies or instrumentalities not dependent on annual appropriations to deposit the required payment in the Compensation Fund during the first 15 days of October each year. Thus, chargeback reporting will continue to cover the period July 1 through June 30, although the official fiscal year has been changed to cover the period October 1 through September 30.**
**The FECA program is financed by the Employees' Compensation Fund, which consists of monies appropriated by Congress or contributed from operating revenues. The chargeback system is the mechanism by which the costs of compensation for work-related injuries and deaths are assigned to employing agencies annually at the end of the fiscal accounting period, which runs from July 1to June 30 for chargeback purposes.  Each year OWCP furnishes each agency with a statement of payments made from the fund on account of injuries suffered by its employees. The agencies include these amounts in their budget requests to Congress. The resulting sums appropriated or obtained from operating revenues are deposited in the fund.**

## A compensation claim is identified as belonging to a particular agency based on the agency code that is entered into the OWCP data processing system when the case is created. The agency should pre-code all initial notices of injury, disease and death in order to reduce errors in the chargeback system. 

**A compensation claim is identified as belonging to a particular agency based on the agency code that is entered into the OWCP data processing system when the case is created. The agency should pre-code all initial notices of injury, disease and death in order to reduce errors in the chargeback system.**

## To prevent incorrect entries from appearing on the quarterly chargeback report and yearly bill, agencies should review their quarterly report. 
Each agency receives a quarterly report, which provides a breakdown of cases and costs for which charges will appear on the yearly chargeback bill. This report can be used to identify and correct errors before the agency is billed for them. When an agency believes that a case appearing on its chargeback report does not belong on its account, it should check current personnel and payroll records as well as search the service record file and/or send an inquiry to the Federal Records Center. 
Requests for changes based on review of the quarterly chargeback report should be addressed to the District Director of the district office having jurisdiction over the case in question or the OWCP National Office. The request should be made within 90 days of receipt of the report, and it must be accompanied by appropriate documentation. 

**To prevent incorrect entries from appearing on the quarterly chargeback report and yearly bill, agencies should review their quarterly report.**** **
**Each agency receives a quarterly report, which provides a breakdown of cases and costs for which charges will appear on the yearly chargeback bill. This report can be used to identify and correct errors before the agency is billed for them. When an agency believes that a case appearing on its chargeback report does not belong on its account, it should check current personnel and payroll records as well as search the service record file and/or send an inquiry to the Federal Records Center. **
**Requests for changes based on review of the quarterly chargeback report should be addressed to the District Director of the district office having jurisdiction over the case in question or the OWCP National Office. The request should be made within 90 days of receipt of the report, and it must be accompanied by appropriate documentation. **

## When an adjustment to the yearly chargeback bill is desired, the request must be sent directly to the OWCP National Office in care of Duane A. Ceasar.  The request can be mailed or faxed to Mr. Ceasar at (202) 693-1498 and must be accompanied by documentation, which shows that the disputed charge did not involve an employee of that agency, or by a complete explanation of the basis for the agency's objection.  The request should include the case file number, employee’s name and the appropriate 4-digit agency code and 2-digit suffix, if known, he or she was incorrectly charged to.  OWCP will make a determination and correct verified errors by crediting the subsequent year's billing statement.  

An agency will have one year from the date of the final chargeback bill to request any appropriate credits to its account.

Credits or debits will be made only for charges appearing on the agency's most recent bill. Adjustments will be made only if there is an effect on the total for the particular billing entity. Transfers of charges from one organization to another on the same bill will not be made.

**When an adjustment to the yearly chargeback bill is desired, the request must be sent directly to the OWCP National Office in care of Duane A. Ceasar.  The request can be mailed or faxed to Mr. Ceasar at (202) 693-1498 and must be accompanied by documentation, which shows that the disputed charge did not involve an employee of that agency, or by a complete explanation of the basis for the agency's objection.  The request should include the case file number, employee’s name and the appropriate 4-digit agency code and 2-digit suffix, if known, he or she was incorrectly charged to.  OWCP will make a determination and correct verified errors by crediting the subsequent year's billing statement.  **
**An agency will have one year from the date of the final chargeback bill to request any appropriate credits to its account.**
**Credits or debits will be made only for charges appearing on the agency's most recent bill. Adjustments will be made only if there is an effect on the total for the particular billing entity. Transfers of charges from one organization to another on the same bill will not be made.**

## 
SSN: where not available, field is filled with 1's, 2's, 9's or zeros;
Medical: includes payments for medical treatment, prosthetic devices, nurse services and rehabilitation costs;
Compensation roll:	payment roll from which last payment was made:  D = Death; P = Periodic Nonfatal; S = Supplementary (Death, Periodic Nonfatal or Daily Nonfatal);
Case No. = the ID and case serial number together provide the unique identification for each case;
PD = pay district; the FECA district where the last payment was made.  This field indicates the DOL district office;
The asterisk, to the left of the employee’s name, indicates the second time the case appears on the listing during the fiscal chargeback year (July 1 to June 30);
The Bldg. CODE column, to the right of the SSN, indicates the alpha or numeric suffix added to the four-digit account number (agency code) to identify mailing address for agency correspondence. It can also be an identifier used by the agency to represent a specific office, region, employee group, etc.;
In the account summaries: The number of payments and dollar costs under the medical and compensation categories will add horizontally to the payment and cost totals.  Not so with the case counts, however; cases shown under the total column represent an unduplicated case count and should correspond with the number of individual cases listed.  When a single case is charged with both medical and compensation payments it is counted in each payment category and the horizontal summation of these cases represents a "duplicate" case count; and
If there are cases with special adjustments this period, an asterisk will be noted under the "adj" column in the compensation field next to “Roll Type”.

**SSN: where not available, field is filled with 1's, 2's, 9's or zeros;**
**Medical: includes payments for medical treatment, prosthetic devices, nurse services and rehabilitation costs;**
**Compensation roll:****	****payment roll from which last payment was made:  D = Death; P = Periodic Nonfatal; S = Supplementary (Death, Periodic Nonfatal or Daily Nonfatal);**
******Case No. = the ID and case serial number together provide the unique identification for each case;**
******PD = pay district; the FECA district where the last payment was made.  This field indicates the DOL district office;**
******The asterisk, to the left of the employee’s name, indicates the second time the case appears on the listing during the fiscal chargeback year (July 1 to June 30);**
******The Bldg. CODE column, to the right of the SSN, indicates the alpha or numeric suffix added to the four-digit account number (agency code) to identify mailing address for agency correspondence. It can also be an identifier used by the agency to represent a specific office, region, employee group, etc.;**
******In the account summaries: The number of payments and dollar costs under the medical and compensation categories will add horizontally to the payment and cost totals.  Not so with the case counts, however; cases shown under the total column represent an unduplicated case count and should correspond with the number of individual cases listed.  When a single case is charged with both medical and compensation payments it is counted in each payment category and the horizontal summation of these cases represents a "duplicate" case count; and**
******If there are cases with special adjustments this period, an asterisk will be noted under the "adj" column in the compensation field next to “Roll Type”.**