(a) A survivor of an employee must file a claim for compensation in writing with OWCP. Form EE-2 should be used for this purpose, but any written communication that requests survivor benefits under the Act will be considered a claim. It will, however, be necessary for a survivor to submit a Form EE-2 for OWCP to fully develop the claim. Copies of Form EE-2 may be obtained from OWCP or on the internet at http://www.dol.gov/owcp/energy/index.htm. The survivor must sign the written claim that is filed with OWCP, but another person may present the claim to OWCP on the survivor's behalf. Although only one survivor needs to file a claim under this section to initiate the development process, OWCP will distribute any monetary benefits payable on the claim among all eligible surviving beneficiaries who have filed claims with OWCP.

(b) A survivor may choose, at his or her own option, to file for benefits for only certain conditions that are potentially compensable under the Act (e.g., the survivor may not want to claim for an occupational illness or a covered illness for which a payment has been received that would necessitate an offset of EEOICPA benefits under the provisions of §30.505(b) of these regulations). The survivor may withdraw his or her claim by so requesting in writing to OWCP at any time before OWCP determines his or her eligibility for benefits.

(c) A survivor must be alive to receive any payment under EEOICPA; there is no vested right to such payment.

(d) Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section, a survivor's claim is considered to be “filed” on the date that the survivor mails his or her claim to OWCP, as determined by postmark or other carrier's date marking, or the date that the claim is received by OWCP, whichever is the earliest determinable date. However, in no event will a survivor's claim under Part B of the Act be considered to be “filed” earlier than July 31, 2001, nor will a survivor's claim under Part E of the Act be considered to be “filed” earlier than October 30, 2000.

(1) The survivor shall affirm that the information provided on the Form EE-2 is true, and must inform OWCP of any subsequent changes to that information.

(2) Except for the survivor of a covered uranium employee claiming under Part B of the Act, the survivor is responsible for submitting, or arranging for the submission of, evidence to OWCP that establishes that the employee upon whom the survivor's claim is based was eligible for such benefits, including medical evidence that establishes that the employee sustained an occupational illness or a covered illness. This required medical evidence is described in §30.114 and does not refer to mere recitations by the survivor of symptoms the employee experienced that the survivor believes indicate that the employee sustained an occupational illness or a covered illness.

(e) For those claims under Part E of EEOICPA that were originally filed with DOE as claims for assistance under former section 7385o of EEOICPA (which was repealed on October 28, 2004), a claim is considered to be “filed” on the date that the survivor mailed his or her claim to DOE, as determined by postmark or other carrier's date marking, or on the date that the claim was received by DOE, whichever is the earliest determinable date. However, in no event will a claim referred to in this paragraph be considered to be “filed” earlier than October 30, 2000.

(f) A spouse or a child of a deceased DOE contractor employee or RECA section 5 uranium worker, who is not a covered spouse or covered child under Part E, may submit a written request to OWCP for a determination of whether that deceased DOE contractor employee or RECA section 5 uranium worker contracted a covered illness under section 7385s-4(d) of EEOICPA.

(1) Any such request submitted pursuant to paragraph (f) of this section will not be considered a survivor's claim for benefits under Part E of the Act.

(2) As part of its consideration of any request submitted pursuant to paragraph (f) of this section, OWCP will apply the eligibility criteria in subpart C of this part. However, the adjudicatory procedures contained in subpart D of this part will not apply to OWCP's consideration of such a request, and OWCP's response to the request will not constitute a final agency decision on entitlement to any benefits under EEOICPA.

[71 FR 78534, Dec. 29, 2006, as amended at 84 FR 3047, Feb. 8, 2019]