EEOICPA BULLETIN NO.03-04
Issue
Date:
________________________________________________________________
Effective
Date:
________________________________________________________________
Expiration
Date:
________________________________________________________________
Subject: RECA (Radiation Exposure Compensation
Act) Indicator
Background:
The RECA Indicator in ECMS has been expanded to show whether the DOJ
(Department of Justice) confirmed the claimant or deceased employee was a
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) recipient. The RECA indicator must be entered on all
DEEOIC cases. This includes RECA and
non-RECA cases in the four District Offices. The only time the RECA Indicator is not used
in the District Office is when all of these conditions have been met.
1)
The claimant did not indicate on the EE-1 or EE-2
whether s/he received a RECA award letter.
2) The claim is non-RECA.
3) A payment is not being issued.
Reference: ECMS v.1.4.11.13 Release Notes,
Updated
Purpose:
To notify the District Offices that entry of the RECA Indicator is
mandatory. The indicator is to be used
on RECA and non-RECA cases. Additionally,
the bulletin describes how the list box has been expanded and to provide
guidance on its usage.
Applicability: All staff.
Actions:
1. At Case Create (ECMS, Claim Screen), the
Case Create Clerk (CCC) reviews the EE-1 (Item 14) or EE-2 (Item 20) to
determine
if the claimant received an award letter
from the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Radiation Exposure Compensation
Act. The CCC inputs the Recvd RECA Ind (Received RECA
Indicator) which is either Y or N:
Y – Yes
– The claimant
checked the Y box indicating that
s/he or the
deceased employee received a RECA
award
letter.
N – No
- The claimant checked the N box
indicating that
s/he
or the deceased employee did not receive
a
RECA award letter.
2. The CCC is responsible for entering a Y when
the Yes box is checked and a N when
the No box is checked. This applies to
RECA and non-RECA claims that are received in the District Office. However, if neither box is checked, the CCC
does not make any entry in the RECA list box.
3. The Claims Examiner (CE) reviews the claim to
ensure the Y/N entered by the CCC is accurate.
4. If neither box is checked, the CE is
responsible for reviewing the claim. In
particular, the CE looks at whether the employee was a uranium worker (
5. The CE contacts the DOJ on all RECA claims
in which the claimant indicated that s/he received an award letter or one in
which the CE suspects an award letter may have been received. The CE sends the request to DOJ and enters
the DJ status code along with the status effective date (date request is made)
in ECMS (Case Status screen). The EEOICPA PM 2-900(5) notes that the DOJ
must confirm the eligibility of a claimant for RECA benefits. (Note: Requests should not be sent to DOJ if
the DOJ letter is in the case file.)
6. After a confirmation letter is received from
the DOJ, the CE inputs one of the following RECA Indicator codes in ECMS (Claim Update screen).
4 – To
be used when the claimant is confirmed as a RECA
IV award recipient.
5 – To
be used when the claimant is confirmed as a RECA V
award
recipient.
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X – The claimant is non-RECA.
(Note: The CE may enter the X indicator at any time to confirm his/her determination that the case is
non-RECA. That is, an X
entry is not
tied solely to receipt of a letter from DOJ
that confirms
non-RECA status.)
7. If the DOJ response indicates that the
claimant has a pending claim with DOJ, the DEEOIC case should be closed
(Closure Code C9)
until the DOJ claim has been adjudicated.
The Y/N code is not changed. It remains
Y or N until
the claim is reopened and the CE determines whether the Y or N
should be replaced with the 4, 5, or X code.
8. If the DOJ confirms the claimant was a RECA
IV or V award recipient or that the claimant is non-RECA, the RECA Indicator
must be 4, 5, or X at the time the recommended acceptance
or denial decision is issued. ECMS will
not allow a payment to be made on a RECA claim unless the RECA Indicator is in
place.
9. If a letter was not sent to the DOJ because
there was no indication that the claimant was a RECA recipient, the CE must
still enter the RECA Indicator X at the time the recommended
acceptance or denial decision is issued.
ECMS will not allow a payment to be made on a non-RECA claim unless the
RECA Indicator is in place.
10. The only time the RECA Indicator does not have
to read 4, 5, or X at the time of recommended
decision is when all of the following conditions have been met:
-
The claimant did not indicate on the EE-1/EE-2 whether
s/he received
a RECA award letter.
- The CE determines the claim is
non-RECA.
- Payment is not being made on the case.
11. The Senior Claims Examiner is responsible for
ensuring the RECA Indicator has been correctly entered on all RECA and non-RECA
cases prior to signing recommended decisions.
12. Backfill will not be done on cases
without the RECA indicator in ECMS.
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Disposition:
Retain until incorporated in the Federal (EEOICPA) Procedure Manual.
PETER
M. TURCIC
Director,
Division of Energy Employees Occupational
Illness
Compensation
Distribution
List No. 1: (Claims Examiners, Supervisory Claims Examiners, Technical
Assistants, Customer Service Representatives, Fiscal Officers, FAB District
Managers, Operation Chiefs, Hearing Representatives, District
Office Mail & File Sections.)
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