Transition to ECOMP

Because of proposed changes to the way that workers' compensation claims information is transferred between the SMIS system and the Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Workers' Compensation Program's (OWCP) Employees' Compensation Operations and Management Portal (ECOMP) system, DOI will transition to utilization of ECOMP for processing workers' compensation claims by October 1, 2019.

The transition to ECOMP will affect workers' compensation filing only, it will not affect other Occupational Safety and Health components and processes of the SMIS system such as accident, injury and illness reporting, analysis and recordkeeping.

The term "employee" in this context is meant to cover full-time, part-time, seasonal, volunteer or any personnel working on behalf of DOI.

Injured employees must initiate the process for all safety-related events, including claims for compensation, through SMIS (www.smis.doi.gov). SMIS will walk employees through the process, notify their supervisor and safety personnel, and then the employee will be directed to ECOMP to enter their injury claim.

Please review the following steps that all employees will follow:

Step 1 of 3: Login to www.smis.doi.gov via the "Employee" module.

Step 2 of 3: Select the green "Report Incident" button

Step 3 of 3: Enter basic details of your accident

Review Upon Success:

The employee, supervisor and the local safety managers are notified via email of the initialized incident along with detailed instructions.

The Supervisor's Role:

1. The supervisor receives a DOI SMIS email notification with instructions indicating that an accident report is awaiting their review in SMIS.

2. The supervisor logs into the SMIS "Supervisor" module and under the "You Have Reports Awaiting Your Review" section selects "Incomplete Reports". The supervisor will find any reports they need to complete under the "Reports Awaiting Your Completion" section.

3. The supervisor may receive an additional ECOMP notification email directing them to the ECOMP system to validate the employee's claim for benefits.

Note: the ECOMP notification is different from the SMIS notification - but BOTH must be completed by the supervisor.

Acting on Behalf of an Employee

Please review the following situations when an employee wants to initiate the claim process:

- Employee does not have access to a GOV email address

A DOI issued government email is required to access SMIS. If an employee does not have a GOV email address, their supervisor is required to act on their behalf to create an accident report. The supervisor will select YES to the injury report question: "Does the employee intend to file a Workers' Compensation Claim?"

- Employee does not have access to a computer or web-enabled device

The employee can wait until they have access to a computer, potentially at a library.

- Employee does not have any email address

ECOMP requires a personal or government issued email address. Even if an indvidual can act on behalf of the employee, the employee will need to create a personal email address to complete the ECOMP process.

- Employee is incapacitated

If the employee is comatose or heavily medicated and will be unable to complete any of the steps on their own, then the supervisor will sign into the SMIS supervisor module and in the "Create New Accident Report" section, select "New Report". The supervisor will select YES to the question: "Does the employee intend to file a Workers' Compensation Claim?" and YES to the question "Is the employee incapacitated?" Once the accident report is complete, the agency compensation coordinator will be notified via email that they need to initiate a CA-1 in ECOMP on the employee's behalf.

This new process ensures timely reporting and increases data quality for analytical purposes. It also allows the Department to continue its support of the new Tableau data reporting tool. Because employees and supervisors are already familiar with SMIS, the actions needed to report an injury or illnesses align with the existing practice of utilizing SMIS eliminating the need to educate employees on a new process.

Workers' compensation support staff will need to work directly with their bureaus' Workers' Compensation Program Manager prior to the transition to ensure that required training is complete and to validate that they have completed a review of all actions in SMIS to ensure that there are no outstanding actions that need attention prior to the transition. Additionally, training will be available for supervisors and employees in the ECOMP system as needed in the event of an employee compensable injury.

The frequently asked questions (FAQs) below provide both injured employees and workers' compensation support staff with information about the transition. Additional questions regarding the transition to ECOMP should be directed to your bureaus' Workers' Compensation Program Manager.