Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP)

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Division of Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation (DLHWC)

CHAPTER 1-502 — RECORDS DISPOSAL

1. Purpose and Scope. This Chapter describes the requirements for transfer of inactive files and records, the time periods for which they must be held, and the responsibility for their disposition. The authority for storage and disposal is given in the OWCP Records Disposal Schedule for program records and in the GSA General Schedules for administrative records.
2. Procedures. A records disposal schedule for the program records of the OWCP has been prepared by ESA. A summary of that schedule is shown as Exhibit 7, PM 10-300.
   1. Program Records. These records are to be disposed of in accordance with the schedule which is summarized as Exhibit 7, PM 10-300.
   2. Administrative Records. These records are to be disposed of in accordance with the GSA General Schedules and with other instructions provided by ESA.
3. NLT Cases and Index Cards. The following clarifications concern the OWCP Records Disposal Schedule as it pertains to no lost time cases and to index cards.
   1. No Lost Time (NLT) Cases. It is current policy that reports of no lost time injuries are not to be jacketed or retained (see PM 1-300.5). The guidance on disposal of such reports is applicable only to those NLT cases which may have been jacketed or otherwise retained in the past.
   2. Index Cards. With the implementation of the automated Longshore Case Management System (LCMS), index cards are no longer created for new cases. The guidance on the disposal of index cards is applicable to those cards retained for older cases not entered in the LCMS.