OWCP News Release: [03/07/2012]
Contact Name: Jesse Lawder Mary Brandenberger
Phone Number: (202) 693-4659 (202) 693-4651
Email Address: lawder.jesse@dol.gov brandenberger.mary@dol.gov
Release Number: 12-0397-DAL
US Department of Labor to host town hall meetings in Amarillo, Texas, on March 14 to assist nuclear weapons workers
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor will host two town hall meetings on Wednesday, March 14, in Amarillo, Texas, to provide former employees of the Pantex Plant with information concerning a new class of employees recently added to the Special Exposure Cohort of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. Staff from the department’s Traveling Resource Center will be available at the meetings for extended periods 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 Dec. 21, 2011, 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 its contractors and subcontractors who worked at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo from Jan. 1, 1958, through Dec. 31, 1983, 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 Pantex Plant SEC designation became effective on Jan. 20, 2012. The Labor Department’s role is to adjudicate these claims based on the new SEC class definition as determined and introduced by HHS.
To date, $47.6 million in EEOICPA compensation and medical benefits has been paid to 337 eligible Pantex Plant claimants, while more than $7.8 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 department’s Espanola Resource Center toll-free at 866-272-3622. This event is open to the public, and pre-registration is not required.
| TOWN HALL MEETING | Wednesday, March 14 |
| LOCATION: | The Ashmore Inn & Suites |
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