Calls Erupt for Investigation into Handling of EEOICPA Claims
The Alliance of Nuclear Worker Advocacy Groups (ANWAG) called on Congress last month, asking lawmakers to look into allegations made by a Department of Labor (DoL) whistleblower and published in the Washington Free Beacon , claiming Department of Labor officials mishandled claims for benefits under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA). According to the whistleblower (a former attorney with the Department of Labor), DoL officials would create qualification requirements more stringent than those intended by Congress, would either not disclose all of the application rules and procedures or would change them after a claim had been initiated, or would purposefully delay paying compensation to claimants in the hopes that the claimants would soon die, thereby limiting the amount of benefits the Department would need to pay. Basics of Benefits Available Under EEOICPA The EEOICPA was crafted and passed by Congress as a means of compensating certain