OWCP News Release: [04/03/2012]
Contact Name: Egan Reich Mary Brandenberger
Phone Number: (202) 693-4960 (202) 693-4651
Email Address: reich.egan.2@dol.gov brandenberger.mary@dol.gov
Release Number: 12-0598-ATL
US Department of Labor to host town hall meetings in Augusta, Ga., on April 17 to assist nuclear weapons workers
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor will host two town hall meetings on April 17 in Augusta, Ga., to provide former employees of the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., 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 Feb. 2, 2012, 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 Savannah River Site in Aiken from Jan. 1, 1953, through Sept. 30, 1972, 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 Savannah River Site designation became effective on March 3, 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, $501 million in EEOICPA compensation and medical benefits has been paid to 3,885 Savannah River Site claimants, while more than $7.9 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 Savannah River Resource Center toll-free at 866-666-4606. This event is open to the public, and pre-registration is not required.
| TOWN HALL MEETING | Tuesday, April 17 |
| LOCATION: | Augusta Marriott Convention Center |
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