EEOICPA BULLETIN NO.02-14
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Subject: Requests for employment information from
Social Security Administration.
Background: Employment
verification is an integral part of claims processing under the Energy
Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA). Although the Department of Energy (DOE) is
responsible for conducting employment verification, the ultimate responsibility
for adjudicating claims lies with the Department of Labor (DOL). Sometimes DOE does not have records
sufficient to verify employment.
Therefore, it becomes necessary for the Department of Labor (DOL) to
search for other resources for verification.
One such resource is the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Bulletin 02-02 outlines
an alternative method for employment verification in which the Claims Examiner
(CE) attempts to obtain employment records from corporate verifiers. Other resources for such records include the
Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) electronic database, and
the claimant’s personal records.
Referral to SSA is the last resort in the effort to obtain employment
data.
Reference: 42 USC
Section 7384u(b), Reference PM Chapter 2-400 page 5
number 8 and Bulletin 02-02.
Purpose: To notify
District Offices of the process for obtaining employment information from the
Social Security Administration (SSA).
Applicability: All staff.
Actions:
1.
Once the CE has exhausted all other avenues for
obtaining relevant employment records, he/she is to prepare correspondence to
the claimant requesting additional employment information. [For additional information in this regard,
please review Bulletin 02-02]. Attached
to the request should be a blank SSA-581 form (Attachment 1). The SSA-581 authorizes release or earnings
information from the Social Security Administration.
2.
In the written correspondence to the claimant, the
CE should request any documents that the claimant may possess that would assist
in verifying employment. The CE should
further advise that in the event that employment cannot be verified by other
means, DOL may request employment records from SSA. The claimant should be advised that
completion of the SSA-581 form is a crucial part of this process. Once the
correspondence is prepared and released to the claimant, the CE should update
the case status screen in ECMS by entering code (DE) Developing
Employment. The status effective date is
the date on the correspondence to the claimant.
3.
The claimant is to complete the following portions
of the SSA-581: name; social security number; date of birth of employee;
address/daytime telephone number of employee; date signed; signature of social
security number holder or authorized representative.
4.
When a survivor for a deceased individual completes
a SSA 581 form, the claims examiner must request that the survivor provide
proof of death if not already contained in the case file. Proof of death includes a copy of the death
certificate, mortuary or interment record, or court issued document. When a SSA-581 request for a deceased
individual is sent to national office the entire package should include the
original and completed SSA-581 form, a copy of proof of death and a copy of the
EE-2 form.
5.
Once the claimant has completed the SSA-581 form,
the claims examiner will complete the following sections:
(a)
“To be
completed by Official of Requesting Organization only”. The claims examiner will fill in the years or
employment history requested in the section provided on the form. The claims examiner will be able to identify
the time period for employment history needed for the SSA-581 request by
searching the Energy Case Management System (ECMS), the claimant case file, or
other documents provided including the EE-1 or EE-2, etc.
(b)
The claims
examiner will make sure that the upper right hand corner of the form allocated
for “Job Number” has job number 8015JC as well as a typed name of the district
office and address of the requesting district office in the space provided just
below this number.
(c)
The claims
examiner will sign “Signature of Organization Official” as well as provide the
claims examiner’s telephone number and fax number.
(d)
The claims
examiner will update the case status screen in ECMS by entering SS (Sent to Social Security) status
code. The status effective date is the date the SSA-581 form is sent to
national office. This is the date that
appears on the cover letter that is sent to national office accompanying the
SSA-581 request.
6.
The claims examiner will create a cover letter
which includes the following information: The United States Department of Labor
has received a claim for benefits under the Energy Employees Occupational
Illness Compensation Program Act for the referenced individual. The United States Department of Labor is
hereby seeking specific employment information regarding the above-indicated
dates of employment. Attached is the
signed SSA-581 form. The cover letter
should also include in the upper right hand corner of the letter the employee
name, employee social security number, date of birth, date of death (if
applicable) and the periods of employment history requested. The claims examiner will make a copy of the
SSA-581 form and place a copy of the form along with a copy of the cover letter
in the case file. The claims examiner
will then send the completed SSA-581 form and the cover letter to:
Energy Employees Occupational
Illness
Compensation Program
Attention:
7.
After
the national office receives the completed SSA-581 form, the form is logged
into a spreadsheet assigning a control number for each SSA-581 request,
identifying the district office and tracking the estimated cost for each
request. A copy of the SSA-581 form is placed in a central file. The original SSA-581 is mailed to SSA.
8.
The processing time is approximately eight weeks
for SSA to provide the completed earnings information. Once SSA has completed the request, SSA will
mail a completed SSA-L460 form (the end product of the SSA-581) to the
requesting district office at the address specified in the upper right hand
corner of the original SSA-581 form.
Each district office must keep a log in the form of a spreadsheet that
contains each SSA-581 request submitted. This log will identify employee name, social security number, date of
death (if applicable), person signing form/relationship, i.e., child or spouse,
date the SSA-581 form is sent to national office and the date the completed
SSA-581 (SSA-L460) is received in the district office. This updated spreadsheet will be submitted to
national office to Lorraine Miller on the 28th day of each month.
9. Depending on the response from the SSA, the CE is to either accept the period of employment as verified or deny the claimed period of employment due to lack of viable documentation. The claims examiner should document receipt of the SSA-L460 (end product of SSA-581 form) response by entering code SR (Social Security Administration Response received) into ECMS. The status effective date is the date the SSA-L460 is date stamped into the office.
Disposition: Retain until incorporated in the Federal (EEOICPA)
Procedure Manual.
Peter M. Turcic
Director, Division of Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Compensation
Distribution: List No 1 – Claims Examiners, Supervisory Claims Examiners, Technical Assistants, Customer Service Representatives, Fiscal Officers, FAB District Managers, Operations Chiefs, Hearing Representatives, District Office Mail and File Sections