Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP)

Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation (DEEOIC)

Atomic Weapons Employers

Below are the head notes for the final FAB decisions relating to the topic heading, Atomic Weapons Employers. The head notes are grouped under the following subheadings: Contractors and subcontractors, Employees during period of residual contamination, and Subsidiaries. In order to view a particular decision in its entirety, click on the hyperlink for that decision at the end of the head note.

Contractors & Subcontractors

Only employees hired directly by an Atomic Weapons Employer (AWE) are covered under Part B of the Act. Employees of contractors and subcontractors of an AWE are therefore not entitled to compensation under Part B. EEOICPA Fin. Dec. No. 25833-2004 (Dep’t of Labor, October 20, 2004); EEOICPA Fin. Dec. No. 55211-2004 (Dep’t of Labor, September 16, 2004).

Employees During Period of Residual Contamination

Under § 7384l(3) of EEOICPA, employee did not meet the definition of an atomic weapons employee because his employment at the facility occurred subsequent to the covered period during which weapons-related production occurred. Also, NIOSH’s report on residual contamination at AWE facilities did not support a covered employment period during which there was potential for significant residual contamination at the facility. EEOICPA Fin. Dec. No. 4898-2004 (Dep’t of Labor, March 8, 2005).

Subsidiaries

Pursuant to EEOICPA Bulletin No. 04-12 (issued September 16, 2004), due to the separate and distinct nature of a wholly-owned subsidiary and the strict regulatory and statutory definition of an AWE facility, a wholly-owned subsidiary of a DOE-designated AWE that is not itself designated as an AWE by the DOE can not be considered an AWE. EEOICPA Fin. Dec. No. 4898-2004 (Dep’t of Labor, March 8, 2005).