The Department of Defense announced a general freeze on travel and hiring that applies to both uniformed and civilian personnel. The announcement, which was made on March 11, 2020, is the D0D’s response to coronavirus. This announcement will no doubt have an affect on Defense Base Act contractors. This post focuses on the affect that the DoD’s hiring freeze will have on the use of global labor market surveys in Defense Base Act claims. “Disability” Under the Defense Base Act: The Defense Base Act pays for disabilities. A “disability” is the “incapacity because of injury to earn the wages which the employee was receiving at the time of injury in the same or other employment.” 33 U.S.C. 902(10). Read that definition again. It is the inability to earn the same wages. For purposes of this post, there are two types of disability to consider: total and partial. Total disability meansRead more
The Defense Base Act and MOD FOURTEEN’s Minimal Fitness Standards
The U.S. Central Command recently released MOD FOURTEEN, which identifies the current minimal fitness standards required for deployment to the USCENTCOM Area of Responsibility (as of October 2019). Why is MOD FOURTEEN Important? MOD FOURTEEN, just like earlier MODs, is extremely important for Defense Base Act claims. Why? Because if a contractor cannot satisfy MOD FOURTEEN’s fitness standards, then the contractor is unemployable in any USCENTCOM country. Think about it in terms of releases to return to work. MOD FOURTEEN defines the absolute minimal physical and mental fitness requirements for a return to work after an overseas work injury. If the claimant does not meet the minimal standards, the claimant may not deploy absent a medical waiver. Total Versus Partial Disability and Labor Market Surveys: In a Defense Base Act claim, an injured claimant who cannot return to their pre-injury job is presumed to be totally disabled. Total disability means thatRead more
International-Matex: 5th Circuit Addresses Situs, Status, MMI, and SAE
Recently, the Fifth Circuit published an important Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act decision: International-Matex Tank Terminals v. Director, OWCP. The issues included maritime situs, maritime status, the concept of maximum medical improvement, and the claimant’s efforts to locate suitable alternative employment. Maritime Situs: The Longshore Act applies to claimants injured “on a maritime situs.” That means an injury must have “occurr[ed] upon the navigable waters of the United States (including any adjoining pier, wharf, dry dock, terminal, building way, marine railway, or other adjoining area customarily used by an employer in loading, unloading, repairing dismantling, or building a vessel.” See 33 U.S.C. 903(a). “Situs” has both a geographical and a functional component. The geographical component asks whether the area of injury “adjoined” navigable waters. “Adjoining” means “border on” or “be contiguous with” navigable waters. The functional component asks whether the area of injury is either included expressly in the list of possible injuries in 33Read more
