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An Act To provide compensation for the injury,
disability, death, or enemy detention of employees of contractors with the
United States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
Title I — Compensation for Injury, Death, or Detention of Employees
of Contractors with the United States Outside the United States
(a) Injury or death.
In case of injury or death resulting from injury —
(1) to any person employed by a contractor with the United States, if
such person is an employee specified in the Act of August 16, 1941 (Defense
Base Act) 9 as amended, and no compensation is Payable with respect to such
injury or death under such Act; or
(2) to any person engaged by the United States under a contract for his
personal services outside the continental United States; or
(3) to any person employed outside the continental United States as a
civilian employee paid from nonappropriated funds administered by the Army and
Air Force Exchange Service, Army and Air Force Motion Picture Service, Navy
Ship's Store Ashore, Navy exchanges, Marine Corps exchanges, officers' and
noncommissioned officers' open messes, enlisted men's clubs, service clubs,
Special Service activities, or any other instrumentality of the United States
under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense and conducted for the
mental, physical, and morale improvement of personnel of the Department of
Defense and their dependents; or
(4) to any person who is an employee specified in section 1 (a) (5) of
the Defense Base Act, as amended, if no compensation is payable with respect to
such injury or death under such Act, or to any person engaged under a contract
for his personal services outside the United States approved and financed by
the United States under the Mutual Security Act of 1954, as amended (other than
title II of chapter II thereof unless the Secretary of labor, upon the
recommendation of the head of any department or other agency of the United
States Government, determines a contract financed under a successor provision
of any successor Act should be Covered by this section) : Provided, That
in cases where the United States is not a formal party to contracts approved
and financed under the Mutual Security Act of 1954, as amended, the Secretary,
upon the recommendation of the head of any department or agency of the United
States, may, in the exercise of his discretion, waive the application of the
provisions of this subparagraph with respect to any such contracts,
subcontracts, or subordinate contracts, work location under such contracts,
subcontracts, or subordinate contracts, or classification of employees; or
(5) to any person employed or otherwise engaged for personal services
outside the Continental United States by an American employer providing welfare
or similar services for the benefit f the Armed Forces pursuant to appropriate
authorization by the Secretary of Defense;
and such injury proximately results from a war-risk hazard, whether or
not such person then actually was engaged in the course of his employment, the
provisions of the Act entitled "Federal Employees Compensation Act", approved
September 7, 1916 (5 U.S.C., ch.15), as amended, and as modified by this Act,
shall apply with respect thereto in the same manner and to the same extent m if
the person so employed were a civil employee of the United States and were
injured while in the performance of his duty, and any Compensation found to be
due shall be paid from the Compensation fund established pursuant to section 35
of aid Federal Employees' Compensation Act, as amended. This subsection shall
not be construed to include any person who would otherwise come within the
purview of such Federal Employees' Compensation Act, as amended.
(b) Detention.
(1) Any person specified in subsection (a) of this section who —
(A) is found to be missing from his place of employment, whether or
not such person then actually was engaged in the course of his employment,
under circumstances supporting an inference that his absence is due to the
belligerent action of a hostile force or person, or
(B) is known to have been taken by a hostile force or person as a
prisoner, hostage, or otherwise, or
(C) is not returned to his home or to the plus where employed by
reason of the failure of the United States or its contractor to furnish
transportation,
until such time as he is returned to his home, to the plain of his
employment, or is able to be returned to the jurisdiction of the United States,
shall, under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, be regarded
solely for the purposes of this subsection as totally disabled, end the same
benefits as are provided for such disability under this Act shall be credited
to his account and be payable to him for the period of such absence or until
his death is in fact established or can be legally presumed to have occurred:
Provided, That if such person has dependents residing in the United States or
its Territories or possessions (including the United States Naval Operating
Base, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; and the Canal Zone), the Secretary during the
period of such absence may disburse a part of such compensation, accruing for
such total disability, to such dependents, which shall be equal to the monthly
benefits otherwise payable for death under this Act, and the balance of such
compensation for total disability shall accrue and be payable to such person
upon his return from such absence. Any payment made pursuant to this subsection
shall not in any cam be included in computing the maximum aggregate or total
compensation payable for disability or death, as provided in section 102 (a)
: Provided further, That no such payment to such person or his
dependent, on account of such absence, shall be made during any period such
person or dependent, respectively, has received, or may be entitled to receive,
any other payment from the United States, either directly or indirectly,
because of such absence, unless such person or dependent refunds or renounces
such other benefit or payment for the period claimed.
Benefits found to be due under this subsection shall be paid from the
compensation fund established pursuant to section 35 of the Federal Employees'
Compensation Act, as amended: Provided, That the determination of
dependents, dependency, and amounts of payments to dependents shall be made in
the manner specified in the Federal Employees' Compensation Act: Provided
further, That claim for such detention benefits shall be filed in
accordance with and subject to the limitation provisions of such Act, as
modified by section 106(c) of this Act: And provided further, That
except in cases of fraud or willful misrepresentation, the Secretary may waive
recovery of money erroneously paid under this subdivision whenever he finds
that such recovery would be impracticable or would cause hardship to the
beneficiary affected: And provided further, That where such person is
found to be missing from his place of employment, whether or not such person
then actually was engaged in the course of his employment, under circumstances
supporting in inference that his absence is due to the belligerent action of a
hostile force or person or is known to have been taken by a hostile force or
person as a prisoner, hostage, or otherwise, the amount of benefits to be
credited to the account of such person under this subsection, and for the
purposes of this subsection only, shall be 100 per centum of the average weekly
wages of such person, except that in computing such benefits such average
weekly wages (a) shall not exceed the average weekly wages paid to civilian
employees of the United States in the same or most similar occupation in the
area nearest to the place of employment where such person was last employed,
and (b) shall not exceed the average weekly wages of such absent person at the
time such absence began; and 70 per centum of such average weekly wage so
determined shall be disbursed to the dependent or dependents of such persons,
irrespective of the limitations of section 9 of the Longshoremen's and Harbor
Workers' Compensation Act, as amended, but should there be more than one such
dependent, the distribution of such 70 per centum shall be proportionate to the
percentages allowed for dependents by section 9 of the Longshoremen's and
Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, and if such manner of disbursement in any
case would result in injustice or excessive allowance for a dependent, the
Secretary may, in his discretion, modify such percentage or apportionment to
meet the requirements of the case; and in such cases benefits for detention
shall accrue from January 1, 1942, unless the beginning of absence occurred
upon a later date in which event benefits shall accrue from such later date,
and for the period of such absence shall be 100 per centum of the average
weekly wages, determined as herein provided: And provided further, That
compensation for disability under this subsection (except under allowance for
scheduled losses of members or functions of the body, within the purview of
section 102 (a) of this Act) shall not be paid in any caw in respect to any
period of time during which benefits for detention may accrue under this
subsection in the same case, and should a person entitled to benefits for
detention also be entitled to workmen's compensation or similar benefits under
any other law, agreement, or plan (except allowances for scheduled losses of
members or functions of the body), where such other benefits are paid or to be
paid directly or indirectly by the United States, the amount thereof accruing
as to the period of absence shall be taken into account and the benefits
credited to the amount of the detained person reduced accordingly: And
provided further, That where through mistake of fact, absence of proof of
death, or error through lack of adequate information or otherwise, payments as
for detention have in any case been erroneously made or credited, any resulting
overpayment of detention benefits (the recovery of which is not waived as
otherwise provided for in this section) shall be recouped by the Secretary in
such manner as he shall determine from any unpaid accruals to the account of
the detained person, and if such accruals are insufficient for such purpose,
then from any allowance of compensation for injury or death in the same cam
(whether under this Act or under any other law, agreements, or plan, if the
United States pays, or is obligated to pay, such benefits directly or
indirectly), but only to the extent of the amount of such compensation benefits
payable for the particular period of such overpayment, and in cases of
erroneous payments of compensation for injury or death, made through mistake of
fact, whether under this Act or under any other law, agreement, or plan (if the
United States is obligated to pay such compensation, directly or indirectly),
the Secretary is authorized to recoup from any unpaid benefits for detention,
the amount of any overpayment thus arising; and any amounts recovered under
this section shall be covered into such compensation fund, and for the
foregoing purposes the Secretary shall have a right of lien, intervention, and
recovery in any claim or proceeding for compensation.
(2) Upon application by such person, or someone on his behalf, the
Secretary may, under such regulations as he may prescribe, furnish
transportation or the cost thereof (including reimbursement) to any such person
from the point where his release from custody by the hostile force or person is
effected, to his home, the place of his employment, or other place within the
jurisdiction of the United States; but no transportation, or the cost thereof,
shall be furnished under this paragraph where such person is furnished such
transportation, or the cost thereof, under any agreement with his employer or
under any other provision of law.
(3) In the case of death of any such person, if his death occurred away
from his home, the body of such person shall, in the discretion of the
Secretary, and if so desired by his next of kin, near relative, or legal
representative, be embalmed and transported in a hermetically sealed casket or
other appropriate container to the home of such person or to such other place
as may be designated by such next of kin, near relative, or legal
representative. No expense shall be incurred under this paragraph by the
Secretary in any case where death takes place after repatriation, unless such
death proximately results from a war-risk hazard.
(4) Such benefits for detention, transportation expenses of repatriated
persons, and expenses of embalming, providing sealed or other appropriate
container, and transportation of the body, and attendants (if required), as
approved by the Secretary, shall be paid out of the compensation fund
established under section 35 of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act, as
amended.
(c) Limitation of benefits to dependents in foreign countries.
Compensation for permanent total or permanent partial disability or for death
payable under this section to persons who are not citizens of the United States
and who are not residents of the United States or Canada, shall be in the same
amount as provided for residents; except that dependents in any foreign country
shall be limited to surviving wife or husband and child or children, or if
there be no surviving wife or husband or child or children, to surviving father
or mother whom such person has supported, either wholly or in part, for the
period of one year immediately prior to the date of the injury; and except that
the Secretary, at his option, may commute all future installments of
compensation to be paid to such persons by paying to them one-half of the
commuted amount of such future installments of compensation as determined by
the Secretary.
(d) Exclusion. The provisions of this section shall not apply in the
case of any person (1) whom residence is at or in the vicinity of the place of
his employment, and (2) who is not living there solely by virtue of the
exigencies of his employment, unless his injury or death resulting from injury
occurs or his detention begins while in the course of his employment, or (3)
who is a prisoner of war or a protected person under the Geneva Conventions of
1949 and who is detained or utilized by the United States.
(a) In the administration of the provisions of the Federal Employees'
Compensation Act, as amended, with respect to cases coming within the purview
of section 101 of this Act, the scale of compensation benefits and the
provisions for determining the amount of compensation and the payment thereof
as provided in sections 8 and 9 of the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers'
Compensation Act, approved March 4, 1927, as amended, so far as the provisions
of said sections can be applied under the terms and conditions set forth
therein, shall be payable in lieu of the benefits, except medical benefits,
provided under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act, as amended:
Provided, That the total compensation payable under this Act for injury
or death shall in no event exceed the limitations upon compensation as fixed in
section 14(m) of the Longshoremen's and Harbor Worker's Compensation Act as
such section may from time to time be amended except that the total
compensation shall not be lam than that provided for in the original enactment
of this Act.
(b) For the purpose of computing compensation with respect to cases
coming within the purview of section 101, the provisions of sections 6 and 10
of such Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act shall be
applicable: Provided, That the minimum limit on weekly compensation for
disability, established by section 6(b) of the Longshoremen's and Harbor
Workers' Compensation Act, and the minimum limit on the average weekly wages on
which death benefits are to be computed, established by section 9(e) of such
Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, shall not apply in
computing compensation under this Act,
As used in this Act, the term "contractor with the United States"
includes any subcontractor or subordinate subcontractor with respect to the
contract of such contractor.
(a) Where any employer or his insurance carrier or compensation fund
pays or is required to pay benefits–
(1) to any person or fund on account of injury or death of any person
coming within the purview of this Act or sections 1-4 of the Defense Base Act
if such injury or death arose from a war-risk hazard, which are payable under
any workmen's compensation law of the United States or of any State, Territory,
or possession of the United States, or other jurisdiction; or
(2) to any person by reason of any agreement outstanding on December 2,
1942, made in accordance with a contract between the United States and any
contractor therewith to pay benefits with respect to the death of any employee
of such contractor occurring under circumstances not entitling such person to
benefits under any workmen's compensation law or to pay benefits with respect
to the failure of the United States or its contractor to furnish transportation
upon the completion of the employment of any employee of such contractor to his
home or to the place where lie was employed; or
(3) to any person by reason of an agreement approved or authorized by
the United States under which a contractor with the United States has agreed to
pay workmen's compensation benefits or benefits in the nature of workmen's
compensation benefits to an injured employee or his dependents on account of
detention by a hostile force or person or on account of injury or death arising
from a war-risk hazard; such employer, carrier, or fund shall be entitled to be
reimbursed for all benefits so paid or payable, including funeral and burial
expenses, medical, hospital, or other similar costs for treatment and care; and
reasonable and necessary claims expense in connection therewith. Claim for such
reimbursement shall be filed with the Secretary under regulations promulgated
by him, and such claims, or such part thereof as may be allowed by the
Secretary, shall be paid from the compensation fund established under section
35 of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act, as amended. The Secretary may,
under such regulations as he shall prescribe, pay such benefits, as they accrue
and in lieu of reimbursement, directly to any person entitled thereto, and the
insolvency of such employer, insurance carrier, or compensation fund shall not
affect the right of the beneficiaries of such benefits to receive the
compensation directly from the said compensation fund established under section
35 of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act, as amended. The Secretary may
also, under such regulations as he shall prescribe, use any private facilities,
or such Government facilities as may be available, for the treatment or care of
any person entitled thereto.
(b) No reimbursement shall be made under this Act in any case in which
the Secretary finds that the benefits paid or payable were on account or
injury, detention, or death which arose from a war-risk hazard for which a
premium (which included an additional charge or loading for such hazard) was
charged.
(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply with respect to
benefits on account of any injury or death occurring within any State.
(a) No benefits shall be paid or furnished under the provisions of this
Act for injury or death to any person who recovers or receives workmen's
compensation benefits for the same injury or death under any other law of the
United States, or under the law of any State, Territory, possession, foreign
country, or other jurisdiction, or benefits in the nature of workman's
compensation benefits payable under an agreement approved or authorized by the
United States pursuant to which a contractor with the United States has
undertaken to provide such benefits.
(b) The Secretary shall have a lieu and a right of recovery, to the
extent of any payments made under this Act on account of injury or death,
against any compensation payable under any other workmen's compensation law on
account of the same injury or death; and any amounts recovered under this
subsection shall be covered into the fund established under section 35 of the
Federal Employees' Compensation Act, as amended.
(c) Where any person specified in action 101 (a), or the dependent,
beneficiary, or allottees of such person, receives or claims wages, payments in
lieu of wages, insurance benefits for disability or loss of life (other than
workman's compensation benefits), and the cost of such wages, payments, or
benefits is provided in whole or in part by the United States, the amount of
such wages, payments or benefits shall be credited, in such manner as the
Secretary shall determine, against any payments to which any such person is
entitled under this Act.
Where any person specified in section 101 (a), or any dependent,
beneficiary, or allottee of such person, or the legal representative or estate
of any such entities after having obtained benefits under this Act, seeks
through any proceeding, claim, or otherwise, brought or maintained against the
employer, the United States, or other person, to recover wages, payments in
lieu of wages, or any sum claimed as for services rendered, or for failure to
furnish transportation, or for liquidated or unliquidated damages under the
employment contract, or any other benefit, and the right in respect thereto is
alleged to have accrued during or as to any period of time in respect of which
payments under this Act in such cam have been made, and in like cases where a
recovery is made or allowed, the Secretary shall have the right of intervention
and a lien and right of recovery to the extent of any payments paid and payable
under this Act in such case, provided the cost of such wages, payments in lieu
of wages, or other such right, may be directly or indirectly paid by the United
States; and any amounts recovered under this subsection shall be covered into
the fund established under section 35 of the Federal Employees' Compensation
Act.
(d) Where a national of a foreign government is entitled to benefits on
amount of injury or death resulting from a war-risk hazard, under the laws of
his native country or any other foreign country, the benefits of this Act shall
not apply.
(e) If at the time a person sustains an injury coming within the purview
of this Act said person is receiving workmen's compensation benefits on account
of a prior accident or disease, said person shall not be entitled to any
benefits under this Act during the period covered by such workmen's
compensation benefits unless the injury from a war-risk hazard increases his
disability, and then only to the extent such disability has been so increased.
(a) The provisions of this Act shall be administered by the Secretary of
Labor, and the Secretary is authorized to make rules and regulations for the
administration thereof and to contract with insurance carriers for the use of
the service facilities of such carriers for the purpose of facilitating
administration.
(b) In administering the provisions of this Act the Secretary may enter
into agreements or cooperative working arrangements with other agencies of the
United States or of any State (including the District of Columbia, Hawaii,
Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) or political subdivision thereof,
and with other public agencies and private persons, agencies, or institutions,
within and outside the United States, to utilize their services and facilities
and to compensate them for such use. The Secretary may delegate to any officer
or employee, or to any agency, of the United States or of any State, or of any
political subdivision thereof, or Territory or possession of the United States,
such of his powers and duties as he finds necessary for carrying out the
purposes of this Act.
(c) The Secretary, in his discretion, may waive the limitation
provisions of such Federal Employees' Compensation Act, as amended, with
respect to notice of injury and filing of claims under this Act, whenever the
Secretary shall find that, because of circumstances beyond the control of an
injured person or his beneficiary, compliance with such provisions could not
have been accomplished within the time therein specified.
This Act shall take effect as of December 7,1941.
Title II — MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
When used in this Act –
(a) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Labor.
(b) The term
"war-risk hazard" means any hazard arising during a war in which the United
States is engaged; during an armed conflict in which the United States is
engaged, whether or not war has been declared; or during a war or armed
conflict between military forces of any origin, occurring within any country in
which a person covered by this Act is serving; from
(1) the discharge of any missile (including liquids and gas) or the use
of any weapon, explosive, or other noxious thing by a hostile force or person
or in combating an attack or an imagined attack by a hostile force or person;
or
(2) action of a hostile force or person, including rebellion or
insurrection against the United States or any of its allies; or
(3) the discharge or explosion of munitions intended for use in
connection with a war or armed conflict with a hostile force or person as
defined herein (except with respect to employees of a manufacturer, processor,
or transporter of munitions during the manufacture, processing, or transporting
thereof, or while stored on the premises of the manufacturer, processor, or
transporter) ; or
(4) the collision of vessels in convoy or the operation of vessels or
aircraft without running lights or without other customary peacetime aids to
navigation; or
(5) the operation of vessels or aircraft in a zone of hostilities or
engaged in war activities
(c) The term "hostile force or person" means any nation, any subject of
a foreign nation, or any other pawn serving a foreign nation (1) engaged in a
war against the United States or any of its allies, (2) engaged in armed
conflict, whether or not war has been declared, against the United States or
any of its allies, or (3) engaged in a war or armed conflict between military
forces of any origin in any country in which a person covered by this Act is
serving.
(d) The term "allies' means any nation with which the United States is
engaged in a common military effort or with which the United States has entered
into a common defensive military alliance.
(e) The term "was activities" includes activities directly relating to
military operations.
(f ) The term "continental United States" mama the States and the
District of Columbia
No person convicted in a court of competent jurisdiction of any
subversive act against the United States or any of its allies, committed after
the declaration by the President on May 27, 1941, of the national emergency,
shall be entitled to compensation or other benefits under title I, nor shall
any compensation be payable with respect to his death or detention under such
title, and upon indictment or the filing of an information charging the
commission of any such subversive act, all such compensation or other benefits
shall be suspended and remain suspended until acquittal or withdrawal of such
charge, but upon conviction thereof or upon death occurring prior to final
disposition thereof all such payments and all benefits under said title shall
be forfeited and terminated. If the charge is withdrawn, or there is an
acquittal, all such compensation withheld shall be paid to the person or
persons entitled thereto
Whoever, for the purpose of causing an increase in any payment
authorized to be made under this Act, or for the purpose of causing any payment
to be made where no payment is authorized hereunder, shall knowingly make or
cause to be made, or aid or abet in the making of any false statement or
representation of a material fact in any application for any payment under
title 1, or knowingly make or cause to be made, or aid or abet in the making of
any false statement, representation, affidavit, or document in connection with
such an application, or claim, shall be guilty of %:misdemeanor and upon
conviction thereof shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not
more than one year, or both.
No claim for legal services or for any other services rendered in
respect of a claim or award for compensation under title I of this Act to or on
account of any person shall be valid unless approved by the Secretary; and any
claim so approved shall, in the manner and to the extent fixed by the said
Secretary, be paid out of the compensation payable to the claimant; and any
person who receives any fee, other consideration, or any gratuity on amount of
services so rendered, unless such consideration or gratuity is so approved, or
who solicits employment for another person or for himself in respect of any
claim or award for compensation under title I shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
and upon conviction thereof shall, for each offense, be fined not more than
$1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
The action of the Secretary in allowing or denying any payment under
title I shall be final and conclusive on all questions of law and fact and not
subject to review by any other official of the United States or by any court by
mandamus or otherwise, and the Comptroller General is authorized and directed
to allow credit in the accounts of any certifying or disbursing officer for
payments in accordance with such action.
A determination that an individual is dead or a determination that he
has been detained by a hostile force or person may be made on the basis of
evidence that he has disappeared under circumstances such as to make such death
or detention appear probable.
The right of any person to any benefit under title I shall not be
transferable or assignable at law or in equity except to the United States, and
none of the moneys paid or payable (except money paid hereunder as
reimbursement for funeral expenses or as reimbursement with respect to payments
of workmen's compensation or in the nature of workmen's compensation benefits),
or rights existing under such title, shall be subject to execution, levy,
attachment, garnishment, or other legal process or to the operation of any
bankruptcy or insolvency law.
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