OWCP News Release: [11/28/2011]
Contact Name: Jesse Lawder

Phone Number: (202) 693-4659
Email Address: lawder.jesse@dol.gov
Release Number: 11-1681-ATL

US Department of Labor notifies former Y-12 employees of inclusion in new EEOICPA special exposure cohort

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor is notifying all former Y-12 employees who worked at the facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn., about a new class of employees added to the Special Exposure Cohort of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. The EEOICPA provides compensation and medical benefits to workers who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. Survivors of qualified workers also may be entitled to benefits.

A worker who is included in a designated SEC class of employees, and who is diagnosed with one of 22 specified cancers, may receive a presumption of causation under the EEOICPA. On Oct. 18, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services designated the following class of employees as an addition to the SEC: all employees of the U.S. Department of Energy, its predecessor agencies, and their contractors and subcontractors who worked at the Y-12 facility in Oak Ridge from Jan. 1, 1948, through Dec. 31, 1957, for at least 250 workdays occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with workdays within other classes of employees in the SEC. This designation became effective on Nov. 17. The Labor Department’s role is to adjudicate these claims based on the new SEC class definitions as determined and introduced by HHS.

To date, more than $1 billion in compensation and medical benefits has been paid to nearly 8,850 eligible Y-12 claimants under the EEOICPA, while more than $7.5 billion has been paid nationwide. For additional information about the new SEC or to schedule an appointment for claim-filing assistance, contact the Labor Department’s Oak Ridge Resource Center toll-free at 866-481-0411.

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