A deposit labeled DFEC Treas 310 on your bank statement is a direct deposit from the federal government’s civilian workers’ compensation program. It comes from the Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation (DFEC), the office inside the Department of Labor that administers claims under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA).1eCFR. 20 CFR Part 10 – Claims for Compensation Under the Federal Employees Compensation Act, as Amended If you or a family member filed a work-injury claim through a federal employer, the deposit is tied to that claim. The “TREAS” piece is the U.S. Treasury, which processes federal payments, and “310” is the banking code for an ACH credit rather than a paper check.
Only DFEC uses that prefix. No other federal program issues payments labeled this way, so you can rule out tax refunds, Social Security, and other benefits.
Which FECA Benefit the Deposit Represents
The bank statement code doesn’t say which benefit you received. The amount, the timing, and your claim paperwork usually make it clear once you know what to look for.
Wage-Loss Compensation
This is the most common DFEC deposit. When a federal employee can’t work because of a job-related injury or illness, FECA replaces part of the lost wages: 66⅔% of regular pay, or 75% if the employee has at least one dependent.1eCFR. 20 CFR Part 10 – Claims for Compensation Under the Federal Employees Compensation Act, as Amended Long-term disability payments run on a 28-day cycle, not a calendar month, so the deposit date shifts through the year.2U.S. Department of Labor. Periodic Roll Payment Schedule
Long-term recipients also get an annual cost-of-living adjustment on March 1, based on the change in the Consumer Price Index from December to December of the prior two years.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8146a – Cost-of-Living Adjustment of Compensation A small bump in your regular deposit in early spring is usually the COLA.
One timing point worth knowing: for a sudden (traumatic) injury, the first 45 calendar days of pay come through the employing agency’s regular payroll as continuation of pay, not from DFEC.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8118 – Continuation of Pay; Election to Use Annual or Sick Leave The DFEC Treas 310 wage-loss deposits begin after that runs out.
Schedule Awards
A schedule award compensates for permanent loss or loss of use of a specific body part or function. Unlike wage-loss compensation, which continues while you remain disabled, a schedule award pays out for a fixed number of weeks at 66⅔% of monthly pay.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8107 – Compensation Schedule Statutory maximums for total loss include 312 weeks for an arm, 288 for a leg, 244 for a hand, 205 for a foot, 160 for an eye, and 200 for hearing in both ears. Partial impairment pays a proportional share of the maximum.
Schedule award deposits arrive on the same 28-day cycle and look identical to wage-loss payments on a bank statement. Your award letter is the fastest way to confirm which one you’re receiving.
Medical Reimbursements and Disfigurement Awards
DFEC also reimburses approved medical expenses tied to the work injury, including treatment, travel to appointments, and out-of-pocket costs.1eCFR. 20 CFR Part 10 – Claims for Compensation Under the Federal Employees Compensation Act, as Amended A one-time disfigurement award of up to $3,500 is available for serious scarring of the face, head, or neck that could affect the ability to find or keep work.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8107 – Compensation Schedule
Survivor Benefits
When a federal employee dies from a work-related injury or illness, DFEC pays ongoing compensation to surviving family members. A surviving spouse with no eligible children receives 50% of the deceased employee’s pay. A spouse with children receives 45%, plus 15% for each child, up to a total cap of 75%. If only children survive, the first child receives 40% and each additional child gets 15%, capped at 75%.6U.S. Department of Labor. Filing for Death Benefits FECA also covers up to $800 in funeral and burial expenses, with an additional allowance for transportation of the body if the employee died away from home.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8134 – Funeral Expenses; Transportation of Body
Do You Owe Tax on the Deposit?
Most DFEC Treas 310 deposits are not taxable. FECA disability compensation and survivor death benefits are exempt from federal income tax, and OWCP does not issue a 1099 for these payments.8U.S. Department of Labor. Claimant Tax Information You don’t report them on your return.
Continuation of pay is the exception. Those first 45 days of salary continuation for a traumatic injury are taxable wages, reported on line 1a of Form 1040, and any sick leave used while a claim is being processed is also taxable.9Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income COP normally comes through your regular payroll rather than as a DFEC Treas 310 deposit, but if you receive both in the same year, keep them separate at tax time.
How the Payment Affects FERS and Social Security
If you also draw a FERS disability retirement annuity from OPM, you generally cannot receive both that annuity and FECA wage-loss compensation for the same period. You have to choose. The main exceptions are a FECA schedule award (which compensates for permanent impairment rather than lost wages) and FECA survivor benefits based on another person’s death — those can be received alongside a FERS annuity.10Office of Personnel Management. Information About Disability Retirement (FERS) Most injured employees elect FECA because the compensation rate is usually more favorable.
Social Security Disability Insurance works differently. You can collect SSDI and FECA at the same time, but the combined total cannot exceed 80% of your average pre-disability earnings. If it does, Social Security reduces your SSDI by the excess, and the offset continues until you reach full retirement age or your FECA benefits stop.11Social Security Administration. How Workers’ Compensation and Other Disability Payments May Affect Your Benefits
If the Deposit Is Unexpected or the Amount Looks Wrong
Start with your own paperwork. Cross-reference the date and amount against your most recent correspondence from the Department of Labor, your approved CA-7 for wage-loss claims, or any schedule award notification letter.12U.S. Department of Labor. Filing for Compensation Benefits
The fastest online check is the Employees’ Compensation Operations & Management Portal (ECOMP) at ecomp.dol.gov, where claimants can view case status and track individual compensation payments.13U.S. Department of Labor. Information for Claimants and Representatives For questions ECOMP can’t answer, call the DFEC Call Center at 1-844-493-1966 with your OWCP case number ready; a Social Security number won’t work as a substitute.14Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs. How to Contact Us If neither OWCP nor your records explain the deposit, ask your bank to trace the ACH transaction back to the originating federal entity.
What Happens If You Were Overpaid
Overpayments come up more often than people expect — a claim status changes, a payment issues before a reduction takes effect, or compensation is calculated on the wrong pay rate. OWCP sends a preliminary notice and gives you a chance to respond before demanding repayment. If you still receive ongoing FECA benefits, OWCP deducts the overpayment from future checks. If no further benefits are due, the government can offset the debt against your federal tax refund, your salary if you’re still a federal employee, or other federal payments, and can refer the debt to a collection agency or the Department of Justice.15eCFR. 20 CFR 10.441 – How Are Overpayments Collected?
You can request a waiver of repayment, but the standard is strict. OWCP will consider a waiver only if you were not at fault in causing or accepting the overpayment. Even then, you also have to show that repayment would defeat the purpose of FECA (because you need all your current income for basic living expenses) or be against equity and good conscience (because you relied on the payments and changed your position for the worse).16eCFR. 20 CFR Part 10 Subpart E – Overpayments Respond quickly if you get a notice. Ignoring it only speeds up collection.