WASHINGTON, D.C. — A final rule updating regulations for the administration of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (EEOICPA) has recently been put in place by the U.S. Department of Labor 's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP).
The updates, which are slated to take effect in April, will take away older terms and references and creates policy changes relating to energy employees' claims for compensation, according to the Department of Labor.
"The department has provided nearly $15 billion in compensation to over a hundred thousand people," Office of Workers' Compensation Programs director Julia Hearthway said in a statement. "For the men and women who sacrificed to build our country's nuclear defense program and their families, we hope these changes will help us continue that important work with greater speed, efficiency and transparency."
According to the Department of Labor, the final rule includes updates and changes to the involvement of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in "consideration of objections to NIOSH's final radiation dosage reconstruction reports," policies relating to OWCP's system for paying medical bills and establishes new procedures for authorizing in-home health care for injured energy employees.