US Department of Labor to host town hall meetings in Amherst, NY, on Thursday, Oct. 7, to assist nuclear weapons workers

OWCP News Release: [09/30/2010]
Contact Name: Jesse Lawder Michael Volpe
Phone Number: (202) 693-4659 (202) 693-3984
Release Number: 10-1367-NEW

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor will host two town hall meetings on Oct. 7 in Amherst, N.Y., to provide information about the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. Department officials will present details about a new class of former employees of the Bethlehem Steel Corp. facility in Lackawanna, N.Y., that was recently added to the EEOICPA’s Special Exposure Cohort, as well as provide an overview of the EEOICPA. The department’s New York Resource Center staff also will be available at the town hall meetings to assist individuals with filing claims under the EEOICPA.

The EEOICPA provides compensation and medical benefits to employees who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. 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 July 14, 2010, 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 who worked at the Bethlehem Steel Corp. facility, an Atomic Weapons Employer, between Jan. 1, 1949, and Dec. 31, 1952, 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 Aug. 13, 2010. 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 $62.6 million in compensation and medical benefits has been paid to more than 720 eligible Bethlehem Steel Corp. claimants under the EEOICPA, while more than $6.1 billion has been paid nationwide. For additional information about the upcoming town hall meetings or to schedule an appointment for claim-filing assistance, contact the Labor Department’s New York Resource Center toll-free at 800-941-3943. This event is open to the public, and pre-registration is not required.

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