Is workers’ compensation federal or state level?

Personal Injury - August 3, 2026

Workers’ compensation is usually handled at the state level, but some workers are covered by federal law instead. Most Illinois employees use the state workers’ compensation system, while federal government employees generally fall under a separate national program.

Getting hurt at work can leave you worried about your health, your paycheck, and your family. Filing a claim doesn’t mean you’re looking for an easy payday; it means collecting what you’re owed after doing your job. A Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer at Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates can help make sure your employer and its insurance company hold up their end, too.

How do state workers’ compensation programs work?

Each state runs its own workers’ compensation programs, and most people employed by private businesses or state and local agencies use their state’s system. In Illinois, claims go through the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission.

Workers’ compensation benefits generally cover medical care and wage replacement when work-related injuries keep you from earning your normal pay. You typically don’t have to prove your employer was careless. You just have to show that your injury arose out of and happened during the course of your employment, which is why the system is often called “no-fault.”

Illinois law gives injured workers 45 days to notify their employer of an accident, and up to three years from the date of injury, or two years from the last compensation payment, whichever is later, to file a claim with the Commission. Reporting an injury right away protects both deadlines and keeps the claims process moving instead of stalled on a factual dispute over what happened. Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates breaks down these notice and filing deadlines in more detail elsewhere on our site.

Who is covered by federal workers’ compensation?

The federal government runs its own workers’ compensation system for its own employees, separate from any state program. The U.S. Department of Labor administers it through the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP).

This federal system is meant to administer benefits for injured federal employees, including USPS postal workers, TSA agents, federal prison employees, and National Park Service employees. The law behind it is the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act, or FECA, and it provides wage replacement at 66 2/3% of your pay rate, or 75% if you have at least one eligible dependent, along with medical care.

How do FECA claims differ from state workers’ compensation claims?

State and federal workers’ compensation programs use different forms, agencies, deadlines, and appeal rules. Illinois claims go through the state Commission. Federal claims go through OWCP.

For a federal injury caused by one event or a single work shift, you generally file Form CA-1. Form CA-2 applies when a condition develops from repeated exposure over more than one shift, like a repetitive strain injury.

An injured federal worker should file Form CA-1 within 30 days of the injury to protect continuation-of-pay rights, which can keep your regular pay going for up to 45 calendar days after a traumatic injury without touching your sick or annual leave. FECA claims generally must be filed within three years of the injury, but waiting that long makes a claim harder to prove, so filing promptly is worth doing no matter which deadline technically applies to your situation.

Which system applies to your injury?

It depends on who employs you and the kind of work you do. If you work for a private company, you’re usually covered under the Illinois system. If you work directly for the United States government, federal workers’ compensation law usually applies instead.

Some workers fall under other special federal laws instead of either system. Railroad workers can be covered by the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, and many maritime workers are covered by the Jones Act, which extends that same law to seamen. Unlike workers’ compensation, both of those systems require showing employer negligence, not just that the injury happened on the job. Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates handles Jones Act and maritime injury claims as well as standard workers’ compensation cases.

Working on federal property alone doesn’t automatically make you a federal employee for workers’ compensation purposes. What matters is who signs your paycheck and directs your work.

The correct system matters because filing with the wrong agency can delay your medical care, your checks, and the other help your family needs. A lawyer can review your job title, employer, duties, and injury date, and point you toward the right forms before any deadline passes.

Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates guides injured workers through either system

You did your job and got hurt doing it. Filing for workers’ compensation, state or federal, isn’t taking a shortcut. It’s collecting what the system already promises for exactly this situation.

Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates has represented injured Illinois workers since 1924 and can determine whether state or federal law applies to your case, explain your options, and help protect your medical care and wage replacement benefits. Call (800) 985-1819 or contact us online to talk with a Chicago workers’ compensation attorney about your case.