US Labor Department to host town hall meetings in Livermore and Emeryville, Calif., on June 29 and 30 to assist nuclear weapons workers

OWCP News Release: [06/17/2010]
Contact Name: Jesse Lawder Michael Volpe
Phone Number: (202) 693-4659 (202) 693-3984
Release Number: 10-0835-NAT

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor will visit Livermore, Calif., on June 29 and Emeryville, Calif., on June 30 to present information about the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, which provides compensation and medical benefits to employees who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. Through town hall meetings, officials will present details about two new classes of former employees at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory recently added to the EEOICPA’s Special Exposure Cohort, as well as provide an overview of the program. The Labor Department’s California Resource Center staff will also be available at the town hall meetings for extended periods of time to assist individuals with the filing of claims under the EEOICPA.

A worker who is included in a designated SEC class of employees, and who is diagnosed with one of 22 specified cancers, may receive a presumption of causation under the EEOICPA. On April 5, 2010, the secretary of health and human services designated the following two classes of employees as additions to the SEC: all employees of the Department of Energy, its predecessor agencies, and their contractors and subcontractors, who worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif., from Jan. 1, 1950, through Dec. 31, 1973, and at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., from Aug. 13, 1942, through Dec. 31, 1961, for at least 250 workdays occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with workdays within other classes of employees in the SEC. Both designations became effective on May 5, 2010. As the Department of Health and Human Services determines and introduces new SEC classes into the EEOICPA claims process, the Labor Department’s role is to adjudicate these claims based on the new SEC class definition.

To date, more than $118 million in compensation and medical bills have been paid to 1,004 eligible Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory claimants, and more than $19 million in compensation and medical benefits has been paid to 159 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory claimants under the EEPOICPA. Additionally, more then $5.7 billion in EEOICPA benefits has been paid nationwide. For additional information about the upcoming town hall meetings or to schedule an appointment for claim-filing assistance, contact the department’s California Resource Center toll-free at 866-606-6302. This event is open to the public, and pre-registration is not required.

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