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Labor Dept.: Rocky's reporting unfair, inaccurate

By David W. James

Published August 22, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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The Aug. 2 Rocky Mountain News editorial, "Labor Department: Who, us?" is the latest example of unfair editorializing and inaccurate reporting by your newspaper when it comes to the Department of Labor's management of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA).

The DOL staff has spent considerable time and effort explaining the operation of the act and providing relevant statistics and documents to the Rocky Mountain News dating back to when the program was enacted by Congress in 2000. As the Rocky well knows, the senior manager of the program, Shelby Hallmark, has been interviewed directly by Rocky writer Laura Frank on several occasions, including an extended personal interview in Denver in February.

However, the story from that interview presented such a bungled stew of facts we had to request that the Rocky publish a correction.

The Department of Labor has great sympathy for all of the affected workers of our nation's nuclear programs, demonstrated concretely by our payment of more than $4 billion in benefits to more than 43,000 claimants, totals far beyond what anyone thought would be achieved in this time period. Our career professional staff is here to help, and we strongly believe that the Rocky Mountain News - which is in a position to greatly aid its readers by explaining [the program's] complicated workings - is instead performing a substantial disservice through its failure to adequately explain the operations of the EEOICPA program and the complicated scientific and evidentiary challenges it faces.

The Rocky has continually suggested wrongdoing by the Department of Labor supported by nothing more than a handful of individual case anecdotes, misleading use of statistics and an unstated and erroneous assumption that Congress intended every case of cancer or other occupational illness at a nuclear weapons plant to be compensated. The Rocky has alleged without any credible evidence that the department delays or denies claims that should be approved when in fact it provides continual assistance to claimants far in excess of that provided by state workers compensation systems.

The Rocky's stories have confused and misrepresented the claims process, mistaking such fundamental issues as which activities are the responsibility of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and which are the department's. We have tried again and again to explain to Frank, in particular, how this complex program works, but her copy never reflects the facts.

The department is continually reviewing and improving its EEOICPA claims process with the constant goal of making the program as compassionate, fair and timely as possible. We would encourage any qualifying claimants to contact us directly if they have not done so already.

David W. James is assistant secretary, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.

Comments

  • August 22, 2008

    9:44 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Andy writes:

    More specifics, please, Mr. Secretary.

  • August 22, 2008

    11:19 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    CDee writes:

    I would be happy to provide Mr. James with the numerous copies of letters denying my grandfathers claim. I would also love to provide a copy of the letter where they tried to say that "climbing under a machine and tearing of protective suit" would not cause enough exposure to cause cancer. Of course once we got them to admit that after that suit was torn my grandfather was forced to lay on plutonium and scrape it with a chisel they decided that there was a "slightly better than 50% chance his cancer was caused by exposure du to working at the Rocky Flats Facility" Oh give me a break, if they are going to have to pay, they just change the facts. There are a few very helpful people at the DOL, once you stick around long enough to get passed the ones that are trying to throw you out.

  • August 22, 2008

    12:44 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    HolierThanThou writes:

    "We have tried again and again to explain to Frank, in particular, how this complex program works, but her copy never reflects the facts."

    At least the middle of that statement is true. And that's the problem. The program is so appallingly complex that injured workers cannot get compensated for their injuries. Instead, tax money is wasted on mandarins whose sole purpose in life is applying a morass of procedural hurdles to deny benefits to workers.

    Thank you, David W. James, for providing one line that explains how you abuse sick workers. Your attitude shows that you're more than happy to continue your charade. If you had the least shred of decency, your letter would have been an apology to the thousands of people that you've hurt. Instead, we see yet another lame excuse from a lackey of the Bush regime.

  • August 22, 2008

    7:54 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    HopiMedicineMan writes:

    America has 500 short range nukes. Russia has 6,000, many already positioned in Cuba, the place Coward Kennedy should have invaded, period, end of story.

  • August 22, 2008

    8:44 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    The_Punnisher writes:

    Mr Secretary:

    Delay is the deadliest form of denial.

    All you CHAIRWARMERS know that time is on your side.

    Your department, and YOU are DESPICABLE.