OWCP News Release: [11/28/2011]
Contact Name: Jesse Lawder
Phone Number: (202) 693-4659
Email Address: lawder.jesse@dol.gov
Release Number: 11-1682-PHI
US Department of Labor notifies former Vitro Manufacturing employees of inclusion in new EEOICPA special exposure cohort
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor is notifying all former Vitro Manufacturing employees who worked in Canonsburg, Pa., about a new class 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 Atomic Weapons Employees who worked at Vitro Manufacturing in Canonsburg from Jan. 1, 1960, through Sept. 30, 1965, 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 $3.9 million in compensation and medical benefits has been paid to 47 eligible Vitro Manufacturing claimants under the EEOICPA, while more than $7.5 billion in compensation and medical benefits has been paid nationwide. For additional information about the new SEC or to schedule an appointment for claim-filing assistance, contact the department’s New York Resource Center toll-free at 800-941-3943.
###