Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP)

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Division of Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation (DLHWC)

Longshore Performance Page

Government Performance Results Act of 1993 (GPRA)

Under the Government Performance Results Act, or GPRA, the Division of Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation has worked to improve its performance in resolving claim disputes that arise under the Longshore Act and its extensions.

The prompt, informal resolution of claim disputes between injured workers, employers, insurance carriers, medical providers and other parties is one of the primary functions provided in all Longshore district offices. Reducing the time it takes to accomplish this critical function results in quicker benefit payments to eligible workers and their families and in lower claim costs for employers and insurers. After collecting claim data and formulating a baseline, in FY 2003 the Longshore program adopted as its first GPRA goal the reduction of the average number of days to resolve disputed issues in contested cases brought under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act and its extensions. The initial target was an annual 2% reduction in the average time it takes to resolve claim disputes from the baseline of 285 days. If a dispute requires formal adjudication by a Department of Labor administration law judge, the time at the Office of Administrative Law Judges is included in this measure. The target was revised in FY2005 to make the performance goal more challenging.

To achieve this performance goal the Longshore program staff have worked to improve communications among the parties, develop the supporting evidence needed to resolve claim disputes, conduct informal conferences more promptly, and issue written recommendations as soon as possible after the conferences. The performance results are shown in the table and chart below.

Longshore Program GPRA Goal -- Reduction of Dispute Resolution Time in Average Days

^* The performance goal is exceeded when the actual result falls below the target.