HELP! I CAN'T REACH MY CLAIMS EXAMINER!

Perhaps the single most common complaint heard in federal workers' compensation claims is your inability as a claimant to reach your USDOL claims examiner assigned to your case, for assistance.  You can literally spend hours on the phone to the USDOL waiting for someone to pick up.  Or you can send a written letter to the USDOL, only to wait for weeks and months, if ever for a response.

Is there a quicker and simpler way to reach your assigned claims examiner at the USDOL?   Yes.   By email.

How do you find out your claims examiner's email address?  Simple.  The USDOL routinely assigns email addresses as follows:  if the claims examiner's name is, for example, John Doe, then his USDOL email address will be doe.john@dol.gov.   This style works for almost all USDOL employees across the country.    If that does not work, try  including his middle initial or reversing the address to john.doe@dol.gov. 

Once you have found the correct email address, you will be able to reach your assigned claims examiner instantly; no long waits on the phone, no waiting weeks for a letter.

However, be prepared for more attempts by the USDOL to further stonewall you.  Once you have their email address, the claims examiner will usually respond that you are not allowed to contact him by email and that you must submit any requests to him in writing or by phone.  That is false and simply and an attempt by the USDOL to further avoid your inquiries.  If your claims examiner attempts to dissuade your contact of him by email, you will want to provide the following federal policy and federal law regarding email to him, by email.    The actual USDOL policy regarding email is as follows:  

"It is the policy of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) that e-mails and facsimiles are accepted in the District Offices and in the National Office.  We will continue to send materials sent directly to our district offices (including email, faxes and other communications such as Federal Express packages) to our London, Kentucky facility for scanning in the electronic case file."  Director for Federal Employees Compensation, October 24, 2003.



Finally, under federal law, emails are "official" federal records as defined by the Federal Records Act requiring preservation (your claims examiner cannot delete your emails) in your federal claims file. Title 44 USC Section 3301.