Office of Compensation Analysis and Support (OCAS)

How to Submit an SEC Petition

SEC Petition Counselor

NIOSH is responsible for accepting petitions to add classes of employees to the SEC under EEOICPA. NIOSH is aware that the SEC process can sometimes seem complex. In order to make the petitioning process as understandable as possible, NIOSH has named Laurie Breyer (formerly Ishak) as the SEC Petition Counselor.

Ms. Breyer has been the NIOSH SEC counselor since July 2006. As the SEC Petition Counselor, Ms. Breyer provides advice to individuals who wish to submit an SEC petition. She assists the petitioner(s) in understanding the development, submission, qualification, evaluation, and Board deliberation processes that their petition will undergo. It is NIOSH's goal to help individuals understand the complete petition process as outlined in the SEC Rule (42 C.F.R. Part 83) and Ms. Breyer works with petitioners in overcoming any frustrations or confusion that they may feel when submitting an SEC petition.

Ms. Breyer has a Juris Doctorate from the University of Tennessee and a Masters in Communication from Wichita State University. She has been with NIOSH since August 2004.

You can contact Ms. Breyer if you have any general questions about the SEC, the SEC process, or how to submit an SEC petition.

If you are interested in filing an SEC petition or have any general questions about the SEC, the SEC process, or how to submit an SEC petition, the SEC Petition Counselor, Ms. Laurie Breyer, can be contacted via email at ocas@cdc.gov or by calling 513-533-6800 or toll-free at 1-877-222-7570. Information on filing an SEC petition can also be found on this page.

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Ombudsman to NIOSH under EEOICPA

Denise Brock has been newly appointed as a Consultant/Ombudsman to NIOSH under EEOICPA. Ms. Brock will be working with individuals with respect to the SEC process as well as the dose reconstruction process for claims that have been filed under Subpart B of the Act.

Ms. Brock will directly assist petitioners in compiling materials, information, and documentation needed to file an SEC petition. She will also assist petitioners in preparing and presenting comments to the Advisory Board on Radiation Worker Health. Ms. Brock will be available to help petitioners who may be having difficulties within their current petition.

In some cases, NIOSH will refer certain Subtitle B claims which have undergone dose reconstruction, and inwhere the claimant may be experiencing some difficulty, to Ms. Brock, for her involvement.

Ms. Brock has been an outspoken and effective advocate for workers for many years. She is the daughter of former uranium workers from the Mallinckrodt Chemical Plant in St. Louis, Missouri. She was the Founder/Director of The United Nuclear Weapons Workers advocacy group. Ms. Brock has extensive experience and expertise in preparing and filing SEC petitions for classes of workers. In fact, Ms. Brock filed the first SEC petition to add a class of workers to the EEOICPA. Ms. Brock was a strong force in organizing former workers and providing necessary information to the Board to push forward the SEC petition.

The SEC petition was approved and a class of Mallinckrodt workers were added. This covered workers who were employed during the time frame of 1942 through 1957, had worked at least 250 days and had at least one of the twenty-two listed cancers. Ms. Brock has acted as not only a worker advocate but as a consultant to several law firms which were assisting EEOICPA claimants. She has been recognized for her experience and was asked to testify before the Judiciary Committee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims, U.S. House of Representatives, Hearing on Implementation of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act in an effort to bring forward ideas to help change the program to better serve the needs of the Workers.

You may contact Ms. Brock by calling toll-free at 1-888-272-7430.

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Requests for SEC Outreach Meetings

NIOSH is looking into conducting a series of SEC outreach meetings across the country. The goal of the SEC outreach meetings will be to help individuals understand the SEC and the SEC petitioning process. These meetings will be open to the public and will last approximately half a day.

Please note that NIOSH will consider all submissions but may not be able to honor all requests for an SEC outreach meeting. The decision to hold a meeting will be based on the availability of NIOSH personnel, the number of requests received, and public interest in a geographical area. If your request is approved then you will be contacted with further details.

If you are interested in having an SEC outreach meeting for your facility or location, please contact either Laurie Breyer or Denise Brock with your request. Ms. Laurie Breyer, the SEC Petition Counselor, can be contacted via email at ocas@cdc.gov or by calling 513-533-6800 (direct) or 1-877-222-7570 (toll-free). Ms. Denise Brock, the Ombudsman to NIOSH under EEOICPA, can be contacted at 1-888-272-7430 (toll-free).

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Who can Submit a Petition

The petition itself can represent an unlimited number of employees from the same facility. Petitioners serve as the contact for the class and must be one or more, up to a maximum of three, of the following:

• one or more DOE, DOE contractor or subcontractor, or AWE employees, who would be included in the proposed class of employees, or their survivors
  
  
• one or more labor organizations representing or formerly having represented DOE, DOE contractor or subcontractor, or AWE employees, who would be included in the proposed class of employees
  
  
• one or more individuals or entities authorized in writing by one or more DOE, DOE contractor or subcontractor, or AWE employees, who would be included in the proposed class of employees, or their survivors

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When SEC Petitions can be Submitted

Petitions may be submitted at any time. For example, a petition may be filed when:

• NIOSH has notified the claimant in writing that NIOSH attempted to conduct a dose reconstruction and found that the dose reconstruction cannot be completed because there is insufficient information to estimate the radiation dose with sufficient accuracy; or
  
  
• a petition is prepared representing a class of employees whose members have or have not filed claims with DOL under The Act. There is no requirement that the members of the class even have yet to be diagnosed with cancer.

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SEC Petition Instructions & Petition Forms

To qualify for evaluation, petitions must include complete information according to the instructions discussed in section 83.9 of 42 CFR Part 83 or on the optional petition forms.

Optional petition forms and authorization forms are listed below. You can also request forms by contacting NIOSH Toll-Free at 1-800-356-4674 and requesting to speak to an OCAS representative.

• SEC Petition - Form A (optional)
  
  Complete SEC Petition - Form A if the NIOSH has reported to you in writing that it cannot complete the dose reconstruction needed for your cancer claim.

  SEC Petition Form A
   PDF 60 KB (2 pages)

• SEC Petition - Form B (optional)
  
  If NIOSH has not reported that it cannot complete the dose reconstruction needed for your cancer claim in writing to you, submit SEC Petition - Form B.

  SEC Petition Form B Instructions
   PDF 112 KB (10 pages)

  SEC Petition Form B
   PDF 139 KB (13 pages)

• SEC Petitioner Authorization Form
  
  If you wish to submit a petition to add a class of employees to the SEC and you are not either a member of that class, a survivor or a member of that class, or a labor organization representing or having represented members of that class, then you must submit the SEC Petitioner Authorization Form. Written authorization from either an employee who is a member of the class or a survivor of such an employee is required.

  SEC Petitioner Authorization Form
   PDF 57 KB (2 pages)

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Where to Submit a Petition

Completed petitions should be submitted to:

• SEC Petition
  NIOSH OCAS
  4676 Columbia Parkway, MS-C47
  Cincinnati, Ohio 45226
  Fax: (513) 533-6826
  

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