![](media/image1.wmf) **U.S. Department of Justice**

Justice Management Division

*Personnel Staff*

Web Site:
[[http://www.usdoj.gov/jmd/ps]{.underline}](http://www.usdoj.gov/jmd/ps)

#  Washington, D.C. 20530

MEMORANDUM FOR COMPONENT HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICERS

FROM: Raymond A. Pagliarini, Jr.

Director, Personnel Staff

SUBJECT: New Death Gratuity for Federal Employees

The Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) was amended by adding a
new section 8102a (5 U.S.C. § 8102a) which was authorized by Section
1105 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008, Public Law
110-181. A copy of Section 1105 of the Public Law is attached. This new
provision creates a death gratuity for Federal employees by authorizing
the United States to pay up to \$100,000 to the survivors of "an
employee who dies of injuries incurred in connection with the employee's
service with an Armed Force in a contingency operation." This death
gratuity will be administered by the Department of Labor's (DOL) Office
of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) as part of the FECA program.

This provision became effective on January 28, 2008, and OWCP is
currently drafting regulations implementing the amendment. This one-time
death gratuity is to be disbursed to the survivors of the employee in a
specific order of precedence set forth in the statute. It is important
to note that these beneficiary stipulations are unique to this new
provision, and no existing DOL rules or guidelines cover these
circumstances.

The statute also provides the employee the opportunity to change the
order of precedence in regard to certain survivors as well as designate
up to 50 percent of the benefit to any person. Since the death gratuity
is now in effect, it is imperative that potentially affected Federal
employees be provided the opportunity to exercise the designation option
for any death gratuity that unfortunately may be payable.

Therefore, OWCP has created a form, a copy of which is attached, to be
used by employees to designate the distribution of the death gratuity,
should one be payable. The instructions accompanying the form explain
the order of precedence that governs awarding the death gratuity and the
optional designations that an employee can make. No designation is
necessary if an employee wishes any death gratuity to be distributed in
accordance with the order of precedence set out in the statute.

Memorandum for Component Human Resources Officers Page 2

We recommend that any time a Federal employee is assigned to provide
service to an Armed Force in a contingency operation, as defined in this
provision, he or she be informed of this death gratuity and be given the
opportunity to designate a beneficiary on the enclosed form. Employees
already assigned should also be given this opportunity. An employee
desiring to designate one or more beneficiaries of a death gratuity
payable under this provision should complete and sign a copy of this
form, retain a copy, and give the original to his or her servicing
personnel office to be maintained in the employee's official personnel
file, or a related system of records, in case it should be needed at any
time in the future.

We recommend very strongly that an employee desiring to make a
designation varying the order of precedence in the statute, or awarding
some of the benefit to another person, utilize the form to avoid
potential difficulties in discerning their intentions. However, DOL
recognizes that there will be exigent circumstances where this is not
possible. In the event that the attached form is not utilized to make a
desired designation, DOL will recognize any document specifying the
beneficiary designation that an employee desires to make if it is both
signed and dated by the employee, and signed and dated by an official of
the employing agency involved prior to the death of the employee.
Employees not using the form should clearly specify any designation they
wish to make.

OWCP's implementing regulations will be forwarded as soon as they become
available.

For additional information or assistance, please contact Jamie Higgins,
HR Policy, on

\(202\) 514-5781 or by electronic mail at <Jamie.A.Higgins@usdoj.gov>.

Attachments

Copies: Pagliarini, McEachron, file

Recorded:JHiggins:45781:4/24/08:file:Death Gratuity:memo to HRO new
gratuity up to 100K