OWCP News Release: [11/28/2011]
Contact Name: Jesse Lawder
Phone Number: (202) 693-4659
Email Address: lawder.jesse@dol.gov
Release Number: 11-1683-KAN
US Department of Labor notifies former Ames Laboratory Plant employees of inclusion in new EEOICPA special exposure cohort
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor is notifying all former Ames Laboratory employees who worked at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, 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 U.S. Department of Energy employees, its predecessor agencies, and its contractors and subcontractors who worked in any area of the Ames Laboratory at Iowa State University from Aug. 13, 1942, through Dec. 31, 1970, 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 $37.7 million in compensation and medical benefits has been paid to 334 eligible Ames Laboratory 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 Denver Resource Center toll-free at 866-540-4977.
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