Program Descriptions
Program Number
17.302
Title
Longshore And Harbor Workers' Compensation
Federal Agency
OFFICE OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION PROGRAMS, EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Authorization
Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act as extended, Public Laws 92-576, and 98-426; 5 U.S.C. 8171; 33 U.S.C. 901-952; 42 U.S.C. 1651; 42 U.S.C. 1701; 43 U.S.C. 1331.
Status
Active
Objectives
To provide compensation for disability or death resulting from injury, including occupational disease, to eligible private employees.
Types of Assistance
Direct Payments with Unrestricted Use.
Uses and Use Restrictions
This program provides income replacement and supplement; schedule awards for the loss of sight or hearing, dismemberment, disfigurement etc., medical expenses (including hospital care); and funeral expenses up to $3,000. Benefits are paid by private insurance carriers or self-insured employers. Appropriated Federal funds are available in certain cases of permanent total disability, and death.
Eligibility Requirements
Applicant Eligibility
Longshore workers, harbor workers, and certain other employees engaged in maritime employment on the navigable waters of the United States and adjoining pier and dock areas, employees engaged in activities on the Outer Continental Shelf, employees of Nonappropriated Fund Instrumentalities, employees of private employers engaged in work outside the United States under contracts with the United States Government, and others as specified, including survivors of the above. Employees of private concerns in the District of Columbia and their survivors are eligible for benefits under an extension of the Act, applicable to injuries or deaths based upon employment events that occurred prior to July 26, 1982. Puerto Rico is not covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act.
Beneficiary Eligibility
Longshore workers, harbor workers, and certain other employees engaged in maritime employment on the navigable waters of the United States and adjoining pier and dock areas, employees engaged in activities on the Outer Continental Shelf, employees of nonappropriated fund instrumentalities, employees of private employers engaged in work outside of the United States under contracts with the United States Government, and other as specified, including survivors of the above. Employees of private concerns in the District of Columbia and their survivors are eligible for benefits under an extension of the Act, applicable to injuries or deaths based upon employment events that occurred prior to July 26, 1982. Puerto Rico is not covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act.
Credentials/Documentation
Necessary documentation is developed when claim is filed by employee/employer or insurance carrier. The claimant may be required to submit to physical examination.
Application and Award Process
Preapplication Coordination
None. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Application Procedure
Employee or his or her survivor files written claim for compensation (Form LS-203 or LS-262) to the local district office of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP). Employer may pay benefits voluntarily.
Award Procedure
Authority to adjudicate claims informally under this program rests with the District Director in (OWCP) district offices. Claims unresolved on voluntary basis are referred for formal hearing under the Administrative Procedure Act.
Deadlines
Claim must be filed within one year after (a) the injury or death (2 years if injury is an occupational disease which does not immediately result in death or disability), or (b) the last compensation payment. Time begins to run when prudent person should have been aware of relationship between injury or death and employment. For hearing loss claims, time does not begin to run until an audiogram together with a report showing a hearing loss, is given claimant.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time
Insurance carrier or self-insured employer must pay compensation after 14 days of having knowledge of an injury causing disability or death, or controvert claim.
Appeals
Application for modification of awards must be filed within 1 year after (a) the last compensation payment, or (b) rejection of a claim by an Administrative Law Judge or District Director Office of Workers' Compensation Programs. Appeal from Administrative Law Judge's decision must be filed within 30 days; Appeals from Benefits Review Board decision must be filed within 60 days.
Renewals
Assistance Considerations
Formula and Matching Requirements
Not applicable.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
Injury: The period of total or partial disability with no monetary limit. Death: Spouse - until death or remarriage; children - until age 18 or to age 23 if qualified as a student as defined in the Act. Employers or their insurance carriers are required to begin compensation within 14 days of (a) knowledge of the injury or death or (b) injured employee's report of loss of wages. Payments are generally disbursed on a bi-weekly basis.
Post Assistance Requirements
Reports
Not applicable.
Audits
Not applicable.
Records
Not applicable.
Financial Information
Account Identification
16-1521-0-1-601.
Obligations
(Benefits and Administration) FY 07 $149,539; FY 08 est $150,080; and FY 09 est $150,833.
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
Disability - 66-2/3 percent of average weekly wage; death benefits 50 percent average wages of deceased to such widow or widower, plus 16-2/3 percent for one or more surviving children with 66-2/3 percent limit. Average benefit unknown. Weekly compensation payments limited to 200 percent of national average weekly wage.
Program Accomplishments
The program currently receives on average 20,000 new lost time injury claims per year from longshore and harbor workers, District of Columbia workers in private industry, and specified other workers covered by extensions of the Act, or their survivors. While most cases are paid directly by the injured worker's employer or insurance carrier, the program is responsible for initially adjudicating disputed claims for benefits and ensuring that injured workers and their survivors receive the benefits to which they are entitled in a timely manner.
Regulations, Guidelines and Literature
Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, as extended. Copies may be obtained from the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, Division of Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation, Washington, DC 20210.
Information Contacts
Regional or Local Office
Persons are encouraged to communicate with the district offices of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs. See Appendix IV of the Catalog for addresses and areas of jurisdiction listed under Employment Standards Administration.
Headquarters Office
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, Division of Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation, Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-0038. Contact: Michael Niss.
Web Site Address
http://www.dol.gov
Related Programs
57.001, Social Insurance For Railroad Workers
Examples of Funded Projects
Not applicable.
Criteria for Selecting Proposals
Not applicable.
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