Dol/owcp - 4

Privacy Act Systems - DOL/OWCP-4

OWCP-4

SYSTEM NAME:

Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act Special Fund System.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

Division of Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Persons receiving compensation and related benefits under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, the Non-Appropriated Fund Instrumentalities Act, the Defense Base Act, the War Hazards Act, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, and the DC Workers' Compensation Act, referred to collectively herein as the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA).

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Medical and vocational rehabilitation reports, bills, vouchers and records of payment for compensation and related benefits, statements of employment status, and orders for payment of compensation, and U.S. Treasury Records.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

33 U.S.C. 901 et seq. (20 CFR parts 701 et seq.); 36 DC Code 501 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.; 43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.; 5 U.S.C. 8171 et seq.

PURPOSE(S):

This system provides a record of payments to claimants, their qualified dependents, or providers of services to claimants from the Special Fund established pursuant to Section 44 of the Act.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

In addition to those universal routine uses listed in the General Prefatory Statement to this document, disclosure of information from this system of records may also be made to the following individuals and entities for the purposes noted when the purpose of the disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which the information was collected:

a. The employer or employer's representatives, including third-party administrators, and/or any party providing the employer with workers' compensation insurance coverage since the employer and insurance carrier are parties-in-interest to all actions on a case, for the purpose of assisting in the litigation of the claim, at any time after report of the injury or report of the onset of the occupational illness, or the filing of a notice of injury or claim related to such injury or occupational illness.

b. Doctors, pharmacies, and other health care providers for the purpose of treating the claimant, conducting medical examinations, physical rehabilitation or other services or obtaining medical evaluations.

c. Public or private rehabilitation agencies to which the injured worker has been referred for vocational rehabilitation services so that they may properly evaluate the injured worker's experience, physical limitations and future employment capabilities.

d. Federal, state and local agencies conducting similar or related investigations to verify whether prohibited dual benefits were provided, whether benefits have been or are being paid properly, including whether dual benefits prohibited by federal law are being paid; salary offset and debt collection procedures including those actions required by the Debt Collection Act of 1982.

e. Labor unions and other voluntary associations from which the claimant has requested assistance with the processing of the LHWCA claim.

f. Internal Revenue Service for the purpose of obtaining taxpayer mailing addresses in order to locate such taxpayer to collect, compromise, or write-off a Federal claim against the taxpayer; discharging an indebtedness owed by an individual.

g. Trust funds that have demonstrated to the OWCP a right to a lien under 33 U.S.C. 917, for the purpose of permitting the trust funds to identify potential entitlement to payments upon which the trust funds may execute the lien.

h. To individuals, and their attorneys and other representatives, and government agencies, seeking to enforce a legal obligation on behalf of such individual, to pay alimony and/or child support, for the purpose of enforcing such an obligation, pursuant to an order of a state or local court of competent jurisdiction, including Indian tribal courts, within any State, territory or possession of the United States, or the District of Columbia or to an order of a State agency authorized to issue income withholding notices pursuant to State or local law or pursuant to the requirements of section 666(b) of title 42, United States Code, or for the purpose of denying the existence of funds subject to such legal obligation.

Note: Disclosure of information contained in the file to the claimant, a person who is duly authorized to act on his/her behalf, or to others to whom disclosure is authorized by these routine uses, may be made over the telephone. Disclosure over the telephone will only be done where the requestor provides appropriate identifying information. Telephonic disclosure of information is essential to permit efficient administration and adjudication of claims.

Note: Information from this system of records is disclosed to members and staff of the Office of Administrative Law Judges, the Benefits Review Board, the Office of the Solicitor and other components of the Department who have a need for the record in the performance of their duties.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Files are stored electronically and/or on paper.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Files are retrieved by social security number, which is cross-referenced to injured worker by name.

SAFEGUARDS:

Access by authorized personnel only. Computer security safeguards are used for electronically stored data and locked locations for paper files.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Records are retained for seven years after last payment is made.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Director for Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Inquiries should be mailed to the System Manager or submitted in such other manner as directed by OWCP.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:

A request for access should be mailed to the System Manager or submitted in such other manner as directed by OWCP.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

A petition for amendment should be mailed to the System Manager or submitted in such other manner as directed by OWCP.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Information contained in this system is obtained from injured employees, their qualified dependents, employers, insurance carriers, physicians, medical facilities, educational institutions, attorneys, and State, Federal, and private vocational rehabilitation agencies.

SYSTEM EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT:

None.