in grade, or removed. Reductions in grade or removal must be taken in accordance with 5 C.F.R. Part 432 or Part 752; supervisors shall consult with Labor and Employee Relations Service prior to initiating such actions.

SECTION 11. Records.

a. The supervisor and the employee each receive copies of the Employee Performance Plan and the Employee Performance Rating. An Employee Performance File, consisting only of these documents, separate from the Official Personnel Folder, will be maintained in the Employment Branch. Upon request, an employee may review his Employee Performance File and an employee may designate a representative, in writing, to review his Employee Performance File. Such documents are maintained for a period of 3 years.

b. The supervisor maintains records necessary to track the employee's performance during the appraisal period. Records may be retained for a least 60 days after the appraisal to which they apply has been issued. Longer retention periods are authorized when the records become part of a grievance, adverse action, or complaint of discrimination.

c. A supervisor will notify an employee when he will be inserting into his performance records any negative information concerning the employee's performance. Only performance related material may be entered into these records. The employee will initial the information to indicate that he has seen it. His initials do not mean agreement with the information. If an employee refuses to initial, the supervisor will obtain a witness to initial as proof that the employee has been shown the information. An employee may grieve the content of

any information in accordance with the provisions of Article VII.

SECTION 12. Principles for Applying Performance Standards.

a. In administering the performance management system, the GPO will abide by the provisions of this Article and applicable provisions of supplemental agreements.

b. Employee performance plans identify the critical and noncritical elements of the employee's posi tion and establish the level of performance required of each critical and noncritical element.

c. Only critical and noncritical elements can be used as a basis in rating the employees on the Performance Appraisal.

ARTICLE XXIV

WORKERS' COMPENSATION

SECTION 1. Introduction. The purpose of this Article is to inform all employees of the rights, benefits and procedures which must be followed under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA). The provisions of this Article will be governed by provisions of FECA and regulations issued by the Department of Labor.

The GPO will notify the Joint Council of Unions (JCU) of the applicable changes in the law and regulations and afford them the opportunity to negotiate the impact of these changes.

The FECA provides monetary compensation, medical care and assistance (attendant's allowances), vocational rehabilitation, and OPM retention rights to Federal employees who sustain disabling injuries including occupational disease/illness as a result of their employment with the Federal Government. The

act provides also for the payment of funeral expenses and for compensation benefits to qualified survivors of the decedent in the case of an employment-related death.

The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP), Department of Labor (DOL), is responsible for administration of the FECA. Although, the compensation benefits are paid from a governmentwide fund, the Government Printing Office (GPO) must reimburse DOL for all moneys paid. The Employee Relations Branch (ERB) has the responsibility for fiscal budgeting for all compensation expenses.

SECTION 2. Definitions.

a. Traumatic Injuries. A traumatic injury is defined as a wound or other condition caused by external forces including physical stress and strain. The injury should be identifiable as to time and place of occurrence and a member or function of the body affected. Further, it must be caused by a specific event or incident or series of events or incidents within a single work shift.

b. Occupational Disease/Illness. An occupational disease/illness is defined as a condition produced by systemic infections, continued or repeated stress or strain, exposure to toxins, poison fumes, noise etc., in the work environment over a longer period of time. In order to qualify as a disease/illness, the injury must be caused by exposure or activities on at least 2 days.

c. Recurrences. A recurrence of an injury (either traumatic or occupational disease/illness) is defined as occurring when the same injury causes additional time loss from the job. The important criterion here is that there is no single event, action or apparent reason for the pain except the previous injury.

d. Causal Relationship. Causal relationship is defined as the establishment of a connection between the injury and the condition found and is based entirely on medical evidence provided by physicians who have examined and treated the employee. Failure of the treating physician to adequately discuss the issue of causal relationship is crucial to the employee's claim.

(1) Direct Causation. This term refers to situation where the injury or factors of employment result in the condition claimed through a natural and unbroken sequence.

(2) Aggravation. Aggravation is defined as a pre-existing condition worsened, either temporarily or permanently, by an injury arising in the course of employment.

(3) Acceleration. An employment related injury or disease/illness may hasten the development of an underlying condition, and acceleration is said to occur when the ordinary course of the disease does not account for the speed with which a condition develops.

(4) Precipitation. This term refers to a latent condition which would not have manifested itself on this occasion but for the employment.

e. Continuation of Pay (COP). COP is commonly referred to in GPO as Sick-Injured Administrative Leave (SIA). COP is defined as the continuation of an employee's regular pay by the employing agency with no charge to sick or annual leave. It is only given in traumatic injury cases and is given for a maximum of 45 calendar days, including weekends and holidays. In order to qualify for COP, the employee must file a written notice of the claim on a Form CA-1 within 30 days of the date of injury. The first day of COP must be taken within 90 days

from the date of injury. An employee has 90 days from the date of the injury to begin using any balance of the full 45 calendar days. The 90-day period begins the day following the day or shift of injury. If an employee is reassigned from night to day shift in order to perform light duty, the employee is entitled to COP for the loss of night differential. However, COP days must be continuous if the COP goes beyond the 90 days. Otherwise, the employee loses all remaining COP days, but is entitled to claim compensation for lost time. If an employee is injured after the beginning of his tour of duty and time is lost, the date of injury (DOI) is considered to be administrative leave, and the COP would begin the next day the employee was off due to the injury. However, if the employee was injured prior to his tour of duty beginning and time is lost, COP would begin on the DOI. If the employee's attending physician finds that the employee is partially disabled and the employee refuses suitable work of fered by the agency, then COP will be terminated. COP must also be terminated if the employee refuses to respond to the agency's offer of suitable work within 5 work days of the receipt of the offer. The agency may make the offer of suitable employment over the telephone but must confirm this offer in writing as soon as possible. COP will be suspended for any employee who refuses to submit to or obstructs an examination required by OWCP. Any COP paid or payable during the period of refusal is forfeited. COP already paid during this period is subject to recovery by the agency. An employee's election of annual or sick leave in lieu of COP is not irrevocable. However, any such request must be made within 1 year of the date the leave was used or the date of OWCP's approval of the