OWCP News Release: [05/20/2013]
Contact Name: Adriano Llosa
Phone Number: (202) 693-4686
Email Address: llosa.adriano.t@dol.gov
Release Number: 13-0999-CHI
US Department of Labor notifies former Battelle Laboratories employees of inclusion in new EEOICPA Special Exposure Cohort
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor is notifying all former Battelle Laboratories employees who worked at the King Avenue facility in Columbus, Ohio, 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 employees who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. Survivors of qualified workers may also 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 March 6, 2013, 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 atomic weapons employees who worked for Battelle Laboratories at its King Avenue facility in Columbus from April 16, 1943, through June 30, 1956, 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 April 5, 2013. The Labor Department’s role is to adjudicate these claims based on the new SEC designation as determined and introduced by HHS.
To date, $7.3 million in EEOICPA compensation and medical benefits has been paid to 61 Battelle Laboratories claimants who worked at the King Avenue facility, while more than $9.2 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 Portsmouth Resource Center toll-free at 866-363-6993.
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