A Postal Service employee pleaded guilty to making false statements and unfairly claiming hundreds of thousands in federal employee compensation benefits - known as workers compensation - according to the Justice Department.
Colette Lee, from Baltimore, claimed she had injuries to her right hand and arm that prevented her from opening doors, turning steering wheels, handling items or working longer than 20 minutes without a break, according to the justice Department. But investigators saw her driving her car, shopping by herself while loading and unloading groceries, riding her bike and in general using her right hand without sign of injury.
She claimed the federal employee workers comp benefits for seven years, and must now pay back $244,000 in benefits and while facing up to five years in prison, according to the Justice Department.
"Taxpayers foot the bill for phony disability claims by government workers," said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. "Postal employee Colette Lee filed a fraudulent disability claim in 2007 and kept the scam going for seven years until she was caught. This case is an insult to taxpayers and honest government employees."
The Postal Service has struggled to contain its workers compensation costs, which have grown by more than 36 percent — from $840 million in 2005 to more than $1.3 billion in 2014 — driven by rising health costs and an aging workforce, according to the agency.
Despite making up just 25 percent of the federal workforce, the Postal Service accounts for nearly 45 percent of workers' compensation costs.
Mandated cost-of-living adjustments account for about 15 percent of the growth, and medical costs per case have jumped 43 percent since 2008 — far higher than the countrywide average of 21 percent, spokeswoman Darlene Casey said.
She said a majority of the Postal Service's workers' compensation claims come from injuries sustained prior to 2008. About 10,240 employees on the workers' compensation rolls were older than 55 and 1,892 were older than 70, Casey added.
