2009 Annual Report to Congress

[Excerpt] Enacted in 2004, Public Law 108-375 also created an Office of the Ombudsman (the Office) and urged the Secretary of Labor to take appropriate action to ensure that it be an independent Office within the Department of Labor (DOL), including independence from the other officers and employees of the DOL engaged in activities related to the administration of the provision of the EEOICPA. See 42 U.S.C. § 7385s-15(d). The Secretary of Labor appointed an Ombudsman in February 2005, and the Office submitted its first report to Congress covering calendar year 2005 on February 15, 2006. When initially created, the duties of the Office only extended to Part E. On October 28, 2009, Public Law 111-84, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, expanded the authority of the Office to also include Part B of the EEOICPA. The day to day activities of the Office are driven by two goals; 1) to provide information and assistance to claimants and potential claimants regarding the EEOICPA; (2) to provide opportunities for claimants and potential claimants to express their complaints, grievances, and requests for assistance concerning this program. In achieving these goals, the Office: Engages in outreach – We sponsor town hall meetings, as well as attend other meetings, forums and workshops where we discuss the EEOICPA and its requirements. This year, with the assistance of the efforts of a task force comprised of many of the agencies involved with the EEOICPA we were able to attend 20 outreach meetings in 11 different cities. Clarifies/explains documents and procedures – The EEOICPA can be very complicated and decisions are oftentimes based on very technical medical, scientific and/or legal concepts. We are contacted by claimants who find it difficult to comprehend these concepts. In addition, there are a many nuances to this program – for example for many of the “rules” there is at least one exception. Some claimants need assistance “steering the right course” as they proceed with their claim. Receives complaints, grievances and requests for assistance – Individuals with pending claims; individuals whose claims were denied; as well as some individuals whose claims were awarded, contact the Office or attend our town hall meetings, to voice complaints and grievances with this program. We are also contacted on occasion by claimants who have complimentary comments concerning the program – usually complimenting the services provided by individuals associated with the program. Provides assistance – It is rare when we are contacted by an individual who simply wants to voice a complaint. Most individuals contact us because they are seeking assistance with their claim. In some instances, we are asked to explain a word or decision. On other occasions, we are asked to provide assistance locating necessary records, or our input is sought on how to proceed with a claim. Inasmuch as many claimants do not have access to computers, we also frequently provide public information such as copies the Site Exposure Matrices; Site Profiles; listing of the 22 cancers covered for purposes of Special Exposure Cohorts, etc. Within the limits of our authority and resources, we assist claimants however we can. The report that follows is a synthesis of the many e-mails, letters, telephone calls, faxes, and face to face conversations that members of this staff had over the past year

2012 Annual Report to Congress

[Excerpt] Public Law 108-375 not only repealed Part D and established Part E it also created the Office of the Ombudsman (the Office). The law urged the Secretary to ensure the independence of the Office within DOL, including independence from other officers and employees of DOL engaged in activities related to the administration of the provisions of EEOICPA. Public Law 108-375 also contained an express sunset date, terminating the requirement for the Office on October 28, 2007. On October 22, 2007, shortly before the sunset provision was to take effect, former Secretary Chao issued a Memorandum determining that the Department of Labor should continue to have an Office of the Ombudsman in the event that the statutory requirement expired. This Memorandum took effect on October 28, 2007. Subsequently, on January 28, 2008, Section 3116 of the FY08 Defense Authorization Act, Public Law 110-181, effectively reinstated the statutory requirement for the Office by extending the sunset date until October 28, 2012. On October 24, 2012, shortly before the October 28, 2012 sunset date, former Secretary Solis signed a Memorandum continuing the Office under the authority of the previous Memorandum signed on October 22, 2007. EEOICPA outlines three duties for the Office: Provide information about the benefits available under Part B and Part E and on the requirements and procedures applicable to the provision of such benefits; Make recommendations to the Secretary regarding the location of resource centers for the acceptance and development of claims under Part B and E; and Carry out such other duties as the Secretary specifies. See 42 U.S.C. §7385s-15(c). In addition, 42 U.S.C. §7385s-15(e) requires the Office to submit an annual report to Congress setting forth: The number and types of complaints, grievances, and requests for assistance received by the Office during the preceding year, and An assessment of the most common difficulties encountered by claimants and potential claimants during the preceding year

Recommended Practices: Protecting Temporary Workers

[Excerpt] Workers employed through staffing agencies are generally called temporary or supplied workers. For the purposes of these recommended practices, “temporary workers” are those supplied to a host employer and paid by a staffing agency, whether or not the job is actually temporary. Whether temporary or permanent, all workers always have a right to a safe and healthy workplace. The staffing agency and the staffing agency’s client (the host employer) are joint employers of temporary workers and, therefore, both are responsible for providing and maintaining a safe work environment for those workers. The staffing agency and the host employer must work together to ensure that the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the OSH Act) requirements are fully met. See 29 U.S.C. § 651. The extent of the obligations of each employer will vary depending on workplace conditions and should therefore be described in the agreement or contract between the employers. Their safety and health responsibilities will sometimes overlap. Either the staffing agency or the host employer may be better suited to ensure compliance with a particular requirement, and may assume primary responsibility for it. The joint employment structure requires effective communication and a common understanding of the division of responsibilities for safety and health. Ideally, these will be set forth in a written contract. OSHA and NIOSH recommend the following practices to staffing agencies and host employers so that they may better protect temporary workers through mutual cooperation and collaboration. Unless otherwise legally required, these recommendations are for the purpose of guidance and in some cases represent best practices

Walking as a meaningful leisure occupation: the implications for occupational therapy

Introduction: In response to growing interest in leisure in occupational therapy and the importance of understanding how occupations maintain, enhance and promote health and wellbeing, a qualitative phenomenological study was conducted to explore the experiences of walking for leisure. Method: Six healthy student participants, identified as regular walkers, were interviewed using a semi-structured format. Data were analysed following interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology. Findings: Participants expressed how and why walking was meaningful to them; the four main themes were social connectedness, wellbeing, connection to nature and achievement from a challenge. Findings suggest that occupational therapists could use walking and leisure occupations in intervention, and that there is scope for an occupational therapy perspective in health promotion. Conclusion: Determining the subjective meaning of engaging in walking as a leisure occupation has implications for occupational science and health promotion in helping to explain why people do what they do

2010 Annual Report to Congress

[Excerpt] Public Law 108-375 which was enacted by Congress in 2004 also created an Office of the Ombudsman (the Office). Pursuant to this law, the Secretary of Labor was urged to take appropriate action to ensure the independence of the Office within the Department of Labor, including independence from the other officers and employees of the Department of Labor engaged in activities related to the administration of the provision of the EEOICPA. See 42 U.S.C. § 7385s-15(d). The Secretary of Labor appointed the first Ombudsman in February 2005, and the Office submitted its first report to Congress covering calendar year 2005 on February 15, 2006. When created in 2004, the Office was scheduled to sunset on October 28, 2007. However, in January 2007, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 extending the Office until October 28, 2012. Moreover, while the Office initially only had authority with respect to claims filed under Part E of the EEOICPA, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 expanded the authority of the Office to include Part B of the EEOICPA. The statute outlines three duties for the Office: To provide information on the benefits available under Part B and Part E and on the requirements and procedures applicable to the provision of such benefits; To make recommendations to the Secretary regarding the location of resource centers for the acceptance and development of claims for benefits under Part B and Part E; and To carry out such other duties as the Secretary shall specify. See 42 U.S.C. § 7385s-15(c). In addition to these specified duties, the statute also provides that the Office is to submit an annual report to Congress setting forth: a) The number and types of complaints, grievances, and requests for assistance received by the Office during the preceding year, and b) An assessment of the most common difficulties encountered by claimants and potential claimants during the preceding year

2006 Annual Report to Congress

[Excerpt] The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) was passed by Congress in 2000, and amended in 2004, to compensate American workers who put their health on the line to help fight the Cold War. Many of these workers developed cancer and other serious diseases because, in the course of doing their jobs, they were exposed to radiation and other toxic substances. They and their families have paid dearly for their role in protecting our democracy; the purpose of this program is to acknowledge their sacrifice and to compensate them in some small way for their suffering and loss. As originally enacted in 2000, EEOICPA included Part B (administered by the Department of Labor (DOL)) and Part D (administered by the Department of Energy (DOE)). When Congress repealed Part D and enacted Part E of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act in October 2004, effectively transferring responsibility for administration of contractor employee compensation from the DOE to the DOL, it also made provisions for creation of the Office of the Ombudsman for Part E. Congress directed that the Office of the Ombudsman be an independent office, located within the Department of Labor, and charged it with a three- fold mission: To conduct outreach to claimants and potential claimants; To make recommendations to the Secretary of Labor about where to locate resource centers for the acceptance and development of claims; To submit an Annual Report to Congress by February 15, setting forth the number and types of complaints, grievances and requests for assistance received by the Ombudsman, and an assessment of the most common difficulties encountered by claimants and potential claimants under Part E during the previous year. See 42 U.S.C. § 7385s-15(e). During 2006, the Office of the Ombudsman undertook outreach efforts to many claimants and potential claimants, principally focusing upon areas of the country to which we had not traveled during 2005. Throughout 2006, we also focused upon responding to the many letters, emails and telephone calls we received, requesting information or assistance, or expressing concerns about various aspects of the Part E compensation program. The concerns expressed to us ranged from issues with the statute itself, and/or the implementing regulations, policies and procedures, to general administrative issues. In responding to complaints, grievances and requests for assistance, we regularly meet with and consult the staff of the Department of Labor’s Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation (DEEOIC). These meetings and consultations are fruitful. During the course of 2007, the Office of the Ombudsman expects to: Conduct additional outreach, traveling to meet with claimants and potential claimants to hear, firsthand, of their concerns and difficulties in obtaining Part E compensation. Respond to emails and telephone calls from claimants, potential claimants, and other members of the public. Continue our interactions with DEEOIC. This report is a short summary of the comments that this Office has received as a result of the personal contacts, the emails, and the telephone conversations from claimants erns about various aspects of the Part E compensation program

2007 Annual Report to Congress

[Excerpt] The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) was passed by Congress in 2000, and amended in 2004, to compensate American workers who put their health on the line to help fight the Cold War. In the course of doing their jobs, many of these workers were exposed to radiation and other toxic substances and, as a result, developed cancer and other serious diseases. The purpose of this program is to acknowledge the sacrifice of these workers and to compensate them in some small way for their suffering and loss. As originally enacted in 2000, EEOICPA included Part B (administered by the Department of Labor (DOL)) and Part D (administered by the Department of Energy (DOE)). In October 2004, Congress repealed Part D and enacted Part E of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, effectively transferring responsibility for administration of contractor employee compensation from the DOE to the DOL. The 2004 amendments also created the Office of the Ombudsman for Part E and directed that it be an independent office, located within the Department of Labor, charged with a three-fold mission: To conduct outreach to claimants and potential claimants to provide information on the benefits available under this part and on the requirements and procedures applicable to the provision of such benefits; To make recommendations to the Secretary of Labor about where to locate resource centers for the acceptance and development of claims; To submit an Annual Report to Congress by February 15, setting forth the number and types of complaints, grievances and requests for assistance received by the Ombudsman, and an assessment of the most common difficulties encountered by claimants and potential claimants under Part E during the previous year

Solar Stove

PEOPLE\u27S CHOICE AWARD WINNER! We designed a solar powered hot plate that also functions as a light source. This allows refugees to cook food without burning wood or using toxic fuels and provides a portable light source. Nexus Maximus IV The Challenge: Innovation for Refugees and Displaced Populations One of the great challenges of our time is how to help refugees and displaced populations, and how to prevent the causes in the first place. Every minute, 24 people around the world are forced to flee their homes. That’s 34,000 people a day who leave everything behind in the hope of finding safety and a better tomorrow. The impact of war, political, racial and religious conflict, and environmental crises of famine and climate change, have caused great suffering and there is a great opportunity to do better. The issues these populations and the countries who receive them face are diverse and complex. They include public health, housing/built environment, cultural integration, public safety, employment/economic and more. How can innovation address these challenges? How do we create the social systems and products to support a healthy, safe and integrated program for refugees? How do we address the physical, emotional, and social needs of refugees to restore hope and opportunity? The solutions may be as far ranging as the challenges, exploring the acute needs during a crisis, as well as the chronic needs of the permanently displaced; looking at immigration and adjustments to new cultures. We encourage participants to draw upon all disciplines, from health professions to architecture, engineering to design, ethics, communication and every way of thinking we have, to find better ways to innovate on physical solutions, processes, policies, systems, and more. Recap of poster presentationshttps://jdc.jefferson.edu/nexusmaximus/1014/thumbnail.jp

Occupational cooling practices of emergency first responders in the United States: A survey

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Temperature on 29/07/2018, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/23328940.2018.1493907 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Despite extensive documentation directed specifically toward mitigating thermal strain of first responders, we wished to ascertain the degree to which first responders applied cooling strategies, and what opinions are held by the various agencies/departments within the United States. An internet-based survey of first responders was distributed to the International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Firefighters, National Bomb Squad Advisory Board and the USA Interagency Board and their subsequent departments and branches. Individual first responder departments were questioned regarding the use of pre-, concurrent, post-cooling, types of methods employed, and/or reasons why they had not incorporated various methods in first responder deployment. Completed surveys were collected from 119 unique de-identified departments, including those working in law enforcement (29%), as firefighters (29%), EOD (28%) and HAZMAT technicians (15%). One-hundred and eighteen departments (99%) reported heat strain/illness to be a risk to employee safety during occupational duties. The percentage of departments with at least one case of heat illness in the previous year were as follows: fire (39%) HAZMAT (23%), EOD (20%) and law enforcement (18%). Post-cooling was the scheduled cooling method implemented the most (63%). Fire departments were significantly more likely to use post-cooling, as well as combine two types of scheduled cooling compared to other departments. Importantly, 25% of all departments surveyed provided no cooling whatsoever. The greatest barriers to personnel cooling were as follows–availability, cost, logistics, and knowledge. Our findings could aid in a better understanding of current practices and perceptions of heat illness and injury prevention in United States first responders. Abbreviations: EOD: explosive ordnance disposal; HAZMAT: hazardous materials.This project is financially supported by the United States Government through the United States Department of Defense (DOD).Published versio

Injuries among youth on farms, 2001

"Agriculture continues to rank as one of the most hazardous industries. Youth are exposed to hazards while living, working on, or visiting farms. In 2001, there were approximately 1.9 million farms in the U.S., with an estimated 1,075,759 youth living in these farm households. Between 1995 and 2000, the annual injury fatality rate for youth on farm operations was 9.3 fatalities per 100,000 youth. In 2001, the non-fatal injury rate for youth who reside on or are hired to work on U.S. farms was 1,270 injuries per 100,000 farm youth. Household farm youth comprise all youth 0-19 years of age who live on Us. farms and include working and non-working youth. An estimated 1,075,759 youth lived on u.S. farm operations in 2001: 16,851 were injured (16 injuries per 1,000 household youth); 10-15 year olds had the highest injury rate (21 injuries per 1,000 household youth); 5,807 injuries occurred while working on the farm (10 injuries per 1,000 working household. youth); 10-15 year olds experienced the highest rate of injury while doing farm work (11 injuries per 1,000 household youth)." --NIOSHTIC-2Title from PDF title screen (CDC, viewed July 8, 2010)."December 2004."Also available on the World Wide Web