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Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, Energy Employees Occupational
Illness Compensation Program Act File.
Most files and data are unclassified. Files and data in certain cases
have Top Secret classification, but the rules concerning their maintenance and
disclosure are determined by the agency that has given the information the
security classification of Top Secret.
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration, Office
of Workers' Compensation Programs, Frances Perkins Building, 200 Constitution
Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20210, and district offices located throughout the
United States.
Individuals or their survivors who claim benefits under the Energy
Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA). These
individuals include, but are not limited to, federal employees or survivors of
federal employees; employees or survivors of employees of the Department of
Energy, its predecessor agencies, and their contractors and subcontractors; and
members of the armed forces.
This system may contain the following kinds of records: claim forms
filed by or on behalf of injured individuals or their survivors seeking
benefits under the EEOICPA; reports by the employee and/or the U.S. Department
of Energy; employment records; exposure records; safety records or other
incident reports; dose reconstruction records; workers' or family members
contemporaneous diaries, journals, or other notes; forms authorizing medical
care and treatment; other medical records and reports; bills and other payment
records; compensation payment records; formal orders for or against the payment
of benefits; transcripts of hearings conducted; and any other medical,
employment, or personal information submitted or gathered in connection with
the claim. The system may also contain information relating to dates of birth,
marriage, divorce, and death; notes of telephone conversations conducted in
connection with the claim; information relating to vocational and/or medical
rehabilitation plans and progress reports; records relating to court
proceedings, insurance, banking and employment; articles from newspapers and
other publications; information relating to other benefits (financial and
otherwise) the claimant may be entitled to, including previously filed claims;
and information received from various investigative agencies concerning
possible violations of Federal civil or criminal law.
The system may also contain consumer credit reports on individuals
indebted to the United States, information relating to the debtor's assets,
liabilities, income and expenses, personal financial statements, correspondence
to and from the debtor, information relating to the location of the debtor, and
other records and reports relating to the implementation of the Federal Claims
Collection Act (as amended), including investigative reports or administrative
review matters. Individual records listed here are included in a claim file
only insofar as they may be pertinent or applicable to the individual claiming
benefits.
Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, Title
XXXVI of Pub. L. 106-398, October 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654.
To maintain records on individuals who file claims under the Energy
Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, which establishes a
program for compensating certain individuals for covered illnesses related to
exposure to beryllium, cancers related to exposure to radiation, and chronic
silicosis. These records provide information and verification about individual
claimants' covered illnesses on which may be based any entitlement to medical
treatment, compensation and survivors' benefits, under the EEOICPA and certain
other statutes.
In addition to those Department-wide routine uses set forth above in
the General Prefatory Statement to this document, disclosure of information
from this system of records may be made to the following individuals and
entities for the purposes noted when the purpose of the disclosure is both
relevant and necessary and is compatible with the purpose for which the
information was collected:
a. To any attorney or other representative of an EEOICPA beneficiary
for the purpose of assisting in a claim or litigation against a third party or
parties potentially liable to pay damages as a result of the beneficiary's
compensable condition, and for the purpose of administering the provisions of
§§ 3641-3642 of the EEOICPA. Any such third party, or a
representative acting on that third party's behalf, may be provided information
or documents concerning the existence of a record and the amount and nature of
compensation paid to or on behalf of the beneficiary for the purpose of
assisting in the resolution of the claim or litigation against that party or
administering the provisions of §§ 3641-3642 of the EEOICPA.
b. To the Department of Energy, its contractors and subcontractors, and
federal agencies that employed the employee at the time of the alleged exposure
of the employee, and to other entities that may possess relevant information,
to assist in administering the EEOICPA, to answer questions about the status of
the claim, to consider other actions the agency may be required to take with
regard to the claim, or to permit the agency to evaluate its safety and health
program. Disclosure to federal agencies, including the Department of Justice,
may be made where OWCP determines that such disclosure is relevant and
necessary for the purpose of providing assistance in regard to asserting a
defense based upon the EEOICPA's exclusive remedy provision to an
administrative claim or to litigation filed under the Federal Tort Claims
Act.
c. To the personnel, contractors, grantees, and cooperative agreement
holders of the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and Human
Services, the Department of Justice, and other federal agencies designated by
the President to implement the federal compensation program established by the
EEOICPA, for the purpose of assisting in the adjudication or processing of a
claim under that Act.
d. To physicians, pharmacies, and other health care providers for their
use in treating the claimant, in conducting an examination or preparing an
evaluation on behalf of OWCP and for other purposes relating to the medical
management of the claim, including evaluation of and payment for charges for
medical and related services and supplies.
e. To medical insurance or health and welfare plans (or their
designees) that cover the claimant in instances where OWCP had paid for
treatment of a medical condition that is not compensable under the EEOICPA, or
where a medical insurance plan or health and welfare plan has paid for
treatment of a medical condition that may be compensable under the EEOICPA, for
the purpose of resolving the appropriate source of payment in such
circumstances.
f. To a federal, state or local agency for the purpose of obtaining
information relevant to a determination concerning initial or continuing
eligibility for EEOICPA benefits, and for a determination concerning whether
benefits have been or are being properly paid, including whether dual benefits
that are prohibited under any applicable federal or state statute are being
paid; and for the purpose of utilizing salary offset and debt collection
procedures, including those actions required by the Debt Collection Act of
1982, to collect debts arising as a result of overpayments of EEOICPA
compensation and debts otherwise related to the payment of EEOICPA benefits.
g. To the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the purpose of obtaining
taxpayer mailing addresses for the purposes of locating a taxpayer to collect,
compromise, or write-off a federal claim against such taxpayer; and informing
the IRS of the discharge of a debt owed by an individual. Records from this
system of records may be disclosed to the IRS for the purpose of offsetting a
federal claim from any income tax refund that may be due to the debtor.
h. Where an investigation, settlement of claims, or the preparation and
conduct of litigation is undertaken, a record may be disclosed to (1) a person
representing the United States or the Department of Labor in the investigation,
settlement or litigation, and to individuals assisting in such representation;
(2) others involved in the investigation, settlement, and litigation, and their
representatives and assistants; and (3) a witness, potential witness, or their
representatives and assistants, and to any other person who possesses
information pertaining to the matter, when such disclosure is necessary for the
conduct of the investigation, settlement, or litigation, or is necessary to
obtain information or testimony relevant to the matter.
i. To the Defense Manpower Data Center - Department of Defense and the
United States Postal Service to conduct computer matching programs for the
purpose of identifying and locating individuals who are receiving Federal
salaries or benefit payments and are delinquent in their repayment of debts
owed to the United States under programs administered by the DOL in order to
collect the debts under the provisions of the Debt Collection Act of 1982 (Pub.
L. 97-365) by voluntary repayment, or by salary or administrative offset
procedures.
j. To a credit bureau for the purpose of obtaining consumer credit
reports identifying the assets, liabilities, expenses, and income of a debtor
in order to ascertain the debtor's ability to repay a debt incurred under the
FECA, to collect the debt, or to establish a payment schedule.
k. The amount, status and history of overdue debts, the name and
address, taxpayer identification (SSN), and other information necessary to
establish the identity of a debtor, the agency and program under which the
claim arose, may be disclosed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12) to consumer
reporting agencies as defined by section 603(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f)) or in accordance with section 3(d)(4)(A)(ii) of the
Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966 as amended (31 U.S.C. 3711(f)) for the
purpose of encouraging the repayment of an overdue debt.
l. To individuals, and their attorneys and other representatives, and
government agencies, seeking to enforce a legal obligation on behalf of such
individual or agency, to pay alimony and/or child support for the purpose of
enforcing such an obligation, pursuant to an order of a state or local court of
competent jurisdiction, including Indian tribal courts, within any State,
territory or possession of the United States, or the District of Columbia or to
an order of a State agency authorized to issue income withholding notices
pursuant to State or local law or pursuant to the requirements of section
666(b) of title 42, United States Code, or for the purpose of denying the
existence of funds subject to such legal obligation.
m. To the spouse, children, parents, grandchildren, or grandparents of
deceased employees who may be covered under the EEOICPA to enable them to
determine their eligibility for benefits under the EEOICPA, and to inform them
of decisions regarding benefit eligibility, so that they have the opportunity
to take action to protect any rights they may have as potentially eligible
beneficiaries.
Disclosure of information contained
in this system of records to the subject of the record, a person who is duly
authorized to act on his or her behalf, or to others to whom disclosure is
authorized by these routine uses, may be made over the telephone or by
electronic means. Disclosure over the telephone or by electronic means will
only be done where the requestor provides appropriate identifying information.
Telephonic or electronic disclosure of information is essential to permit
efficient administration and adjudication of claims under the EEOICPA.
The amount, status and history of overdue debts, the name and address,
taxpayer identification (SSAN), and other information necessary to establish
the identity of a debtor, the agency and program under which the claim arose,
may be disclosed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12) to consumer reporting
agencies as defined by section 603(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681a(f)) or in accordance with section 3(d)(4)(A)(ii) of the Federal
Claims Collection Act of 1966 as amended (31 U.S.C. 3711(f)) for the purpose of
encouraging the repayment of an overdue debt.
Paper case files are maintained in filing cabinets. Automated data,
including case files that have been transformed into electronic form, are
stored in computer discs or magnetic tapes, which are stored in cabinets.
Microfiche is stored in cabinets.
Files and automated data are retrieved after identification by coded
file number and/or Social Security Number which is cross-referenced to employee
by name, employer and/or contractor, and date and nature of injury.
Files and automated data are maintained under supervision of OWCP
personnel during normal working hours - only authorized personnel, with the
appropriate password, may handle, retrieve, or disclose any information
contained therein. Access to electronic records is controlled by password or
other user identification code.
All case files and automated data pertaining to a claim are destroyed
15 years after the case file has become inactive. Paper files that have been
scanned to create electronic copies are destroyed after the copies are
verified. Automated data is retained in its most current form only, however,
and as information is updated, outdated information is deleted. Some related
financial records are retained only in electronic form, and destroyed 6 years
and 3 months after creation or receipt.
Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, 200 Constitution
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210.
An individual wishing to inquire whether this system of records
contains information about him/her may write or telephone the OWCP district
office that services the state in which the individual resided or worked at the
time he or she believes a claim was filed. In order for the record to be
located, the individual must provide his or her full name, OWCP claim number
(if known), date of injury (if known), and date of birth.
Any individual seeking access to non-exempt information about a case in
which he/she is a party in interest may write or telephone the OWCP district
office where the case is located, or the systems manager.
Any individual requesting amendment of non-exempt records should
contact the appropriate OWCP district office, or the system manager.
Individuals requesting amendment of records must comply with the Department's
Privacy Act regulations at 29 CFR 71.1 and 71.9.
Injured employees who are the subjects of the record, their family
members and beneficiaries; employing Federal agencies; State governments, State
agencies, and other Federal agencies; State and Federal workers' compensation
offices; physicians and other medical professionals; hospitals; clinics;
medical laboratories; suppliers of health care products and services and their
agents and representatives; educational institutions; attorneys; Members of
Congress; OWCP field investigations; consumer credit reports; investigative
reports; correspondence with the debtor including personal financial
statements; records relating to hearings on the debt; and other DOL systems of
records.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2), investigative material in this
system of records compiled for law enforcement purposes is exempt from
subsections (c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H) and (I), and (f) of 5 U.S.C.
552a, provided, however, that if any individual is denied any right, privilege,
or benefit that he or she would otherwise be entitled to by Federal law, or for
which he or she would otherwise be eligible, as a result of the maintenance of
these records, such material shall be provided to the individual, except to the
extent that the disclosure of the material would reveal the identity of a
source who furnished information to the Government under an express promise
that the identity of the source would be held in confidence, or prior to
January 1, 1975, under an implied promise that the identity of the source would
be held in confidence.
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