Question: What is the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program?

Answer: The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program provides benefits authorized by the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA). The EEOICPA provides compensation and medical benefits to employees whose work in the nuclear weapons industry made them ill. Survivors of qualified workers may also be eligible for benefits. The EEOICPA has two parts, Part B and Part E.

Part B

Who is covered under Part B of the EEOICPA?

Part B covers current and former workers who have been diagnosed with cancer, chronic beryllium disease, beryllium sensitivity, or silicosis, and whose illnesses were caused by exposure to radiation, beryllium, or silica while working at a covered Department of Energy facility or for a covered Atomic Weapons Employer or Beryllium Vendor during a specific time period. Certain individuals awarded benefits by the Department of Justice under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) are also eligible for EEOICPA Part B benefits.

What benefits will I receive if my claim is accepted under Part B?

• $150,000 to employees or eligible survivors.
• $50,000 to RECA Section 5 uranium workers who received $100,000 from the Department of Justice.
• Medical benefits for accepted conditions.
• Medical monitoring for beryllium sensitivity.

What medical conditions may be compensable under Part B?

• Part B covers cancer, chronic beryllium disease (CBD), beryllium sensitivity (medical monitoring only), chronic silicosis, and RECA (Section 5) illnesses.

How is causation shown in a Part B cancer claim?

• After a cancer diagnosis and employment have been verified, the claim materials are sent to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for a dose reconstruction under Part B.
• Special Exposure Cohort (SEC): for certain claims where designated facilities and employment criteria are met and the employee has one of 22 specified cancers, the employee is considered a member of the SEC. For SEC members with specified cancer, causation is presumed.  

Part E

Who is covered under Part E of the EEOICPA?

Part E covers Department of Energy contractor or subcontractor employees whose occupational exposure to a toxic substance at a covered Department of Energy facility during a covered time period was a significant factor in causing, contributing to, or aggravating their claimed illness. Certain individuals awarded benefits by the Department of Justice under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) are also eligible for Part E EEOICPA benefits.

What benefits will I receive if my claim is accepted under Part E?

Up to $250,000 in compensation may be available under Part E. Compensation differs for employees and survivors.

Covered Part E employees receive:

• Medical benefits for the accepted conditions;
• Impairment compensation ($2,500 for each percentage of whole body impairment caused by a covered illness); and
• Wage loss compensation ($10,000 or $15,000 per year of eligible wage loss)

Eligible survivors (employee death related to or caused by covered illness) receive:

• $125,000 lump sum compensation payment.
• Additional wage loss of $25,000 or $50,000, if applicable.  

Additional information for employees on the process for claiming impairment and wage loss -is provided when a recommended decision accepting your Part E claim is issued.

What medical conditions may be compensable under Part E?

• Part E covers any diagnosed illness linked to toxic exposures at a covered Department of Energy facility, including Part B illnesses.

How is causation shown under Part E?

Under Part E, evidence must show that toxic exposure at a Department of Energy facility was significant in causing, contributing to or aggravating the claimed condition. Your DEEOIC district office claims examiner will use a variety of tools to establish this connection, including information from the Department of Energy about the facility, information in the Site Exposure Matrices database developed by the Department of Labor, and referral to a physician, industrial hygienist, or toxicologist. Your district office claims examiner may also ask for any information you have on this issue.

Under Part E, where the employee is deceased, his or her death must also be related to the claimed condition in order for any survivor claim to be accepted.

Who are eligible survivors under Part B and Part E of the EEOICPA?

Eligible survivors are different under Part B and Part E.

Under Part B, eligible survivors are:

• Spouse (married to employee at least one year prior to employee's death), children, parents, grandchildren, and grandparents, in that order.

Under Part E, eligible survivors are limited to:

• Spouse (married to employee at least one year prior to employee's death); and
• Covered Child - natural child, stepchild, or adopted child who lived with the deceased employee in a parent-child relationship who, at the time of the employee's death, was under 18 years of age; or under 23 years of age and a full-time student; or any age and medically incapable of self-support.

Parents, siblings, self-supporting adult children, and other relatives are not eligible survivors under Part E.

What evidence is required for my claim to be accepted?

Your case file must contain evidence of covered employment, a diagnosed medical condition, and causation. Causation means a demonstrated relationship between the employment, exposures, and the diagnosed condition. If the employee is deceased, the file must contain evidence establishing that you are an eligible survivor.

I filed a claim under Part B, Part E, or both Parts of the EEOICPA.  What happens next?

DEEOIC staff must assemble a case file containing evidence that shows your eligibility for compensation and benefits.  Your District Office claims examiner (CE) will work with you to obtain the necessary evidence and will assist in obtaining certain evidence from other sources.  When your claim file is complete and the CE has analyzed all available information, the CE will issue a recommended decision (RD) to accept or to deny your claim.  The RD will explain the basis for the proposed decision to accept or deny.  The RD will be forwarded to the Final Adjudication Branch (FAB) for review and the issuance of a final decision.

I received a recommended decision from the District Office.  What should I do if I disagree with the recommended decision?

If you disagree with the recommended decision, you may file objections and request a hearing through the Final Adjudication Branch (FAB).  You must file written objections within 60 days from the date of the recommended decision by uploading them to the FAB via the Energy Document Portal at https://eclaimant.dol-esa.gov or by mailing your documents to the FAB at: U.S. Department of Labor, DOL DEEOIC Central Mail Room, PO Box 8306, London, Kentucky 40742-8306. 

If you would like an informal hearing on your objections, you must request a hearing when you file your objections.  The hearing will give you an opportunity to present both oral testimony and written evidence in support of your claim.  If you do not request a hearing with your objections, the FAB will consider your objections through a review of the written record, which will also give you the opportunity to present written evidence in support of your claim.

If you fail to file any objections to the recommended decision within the 60-day period, the FAB will review your recommended decision and the case file evidence, and your right to challenge it will be waived for all purposes.  

I received a recommended decision from the District Office.  Are there steps I should take if I agree with the recommended decision?

If you agree with the recommended decision and wish for it to be affirmed in a final decision without change, you may submit a written statement waiving your right to object to it to the Final Adjudication Branch (FAB).  This action allows the FAB to issue a final decision on your claim before the end of the 60-day period for filing objections.  If you wish to object to only part of the recommended decision and waive objections to the remaining parts of the decision, you may do so.  In that situation, the FAB may issue a final decision affirming the parts of the recommended decision to which you do not object.

I received a final decision.  What are my options if I disagree with the Final Adjudication Branch’s (FAB) final decision?

If you disagree with any part of the FAB’s final decision denying the claim, you may request reconsideration.  You must make the request within 30 days of the date of issuance of the final decision and clearly state the grounds upon which you are requesting reconsideration.  A FAB representative, specifically, who has not had prior involvement with your claim, will review your request.       

You may also request a reopening of your claim at any time following a final decision.  If you have new evidence which refutes the FAB’s findings, you may request a reopening of the claim.  For example, if FAB denied the claim because covered employment under the EEOICPA was not established and you have new evidence of covered employment or exposure to a toxic substance, you may request a reopening of the claim.  If FAB denied the claim because cancer was not causally-related to the work-related exposure to radiation, and you can identify either a change in the probability of causation guidelines, a change in the dose reconstruction method, or an addition of a class of employees to the Special Exposure Cohort, you may request a reopening of the claim.  Requests to reopen the claim must be in writing and sent, along with supporting information, to the DOL DEEOIC Central Mail Room, PO Box 8306, London, Kentucky 40742-8306. 

A FAB final decision may also be appealed to federal court.