Government considering changing injury pay for federal employees

The Labor Department is studying and considering changes in the way federal employees are compensated if they are injured on the job, said a report by the Government Accountability Office.

Currently, employees with a dependent at home receive 75 percent of their normal wage while recovering from an injury. Employees without a dependent only get 66 and two-thirds percent. The Labor Department is considering setting a universal rate of 70 percent.

In 2010, the government gave nearly $1.9 billion to federal employees who were injured on the job or contracted a work-related disease, the GAO said. The US Postal Service had the largest group given compensation - 43 percent of beneficiaries worked for the nation's mail service.