U.S. Department of Labor Employment Standards Administration
Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs
Division of Longshore and
Harbor Workers’ Compensation
Washington, D.C. 20210

File Number:
November 09, 2009

Notice No. 130

NOTICE TO EMPLOYERS AND INSURANCE CARRIERS UNDER THE LONGSHORE
AND HARBOR WORKERS’ COMPENSATION ACT AND OTHER INTERESTED
PERSONS

SUBJECT: Initiative to Improve Timeliness in Employer’s First
Report of Injury and Initial Payment of Compensation

To improve program effectiveness by facilitating the prompt
delivery of benefits to injured workers, the Office of Workers’
Compensation Programs (OWCP), Division of Longshore and Harbor
Workers’ Compensation (DLHWC), has launched an initiative to
scrutinize more closely and track more comprehensively the
timeliness in filing first reports of injury and initial payment
of compensation by employers and insurance carriers.

This initiative is intended to:

1) To improve timelines in the filing of the Employer's First
Report of Injury, Form LS-202, and

2) To reduce the elapsed time from the first date of an
injured worker's disability to the date of first payment of
compensation.

OWCP hopes to reduce the time lapse between the occurrence of an
injury or disability and the report of the injury to OWCP, as
well as the time it takes to deliver the first payment of
benefits to the injured worker. To accomplish these objectives,
DLHWC plans to take the following action:

1) DLHWC will work to emphasize the importance of timely
reporting of injuries and prompt payment of compensation through
industry notices, regional newsletters, educational seminars and
workshops, informal meetings with claims professionals,
correspondence, and enhanced online information. Timely
reporting of injuries to the OWCP means that injured workers
will receive more quickly basic information about their rights
to benefits and how to file claims. It also means that our
District Office staff can monitor a case and take action as
necessary to make sure proper benefits are paid. Prompt payment
of compensation obviously benefits injured workers who are



unable to earn wages due to their work injuries. It also
benefits the employers and insurance carriers in indirect ways:
it decreases the length of time an injured worker remains off
work, minimizes claim disputes, and reduces the time for dispute
resolution, all of which result in lower claim costs.

2) DLHWC has begun tracking in its automated case management
system the time it takes an employer to submit the Form LS-202,
Employer’s First Report of Injury or Occupational Illness, as
well as the time it takes a self-insured employer or insurance
carrier to issue the first payment of compensation. The data
collected in the past year is being used as the baseline for
improvement. DLHWC will provide individualized training as
necessary to program participants in the timely reporting of
injuries and the timely payment of benefits to injured workers.
Both authorized self-insured employers and authorized insurance
carriers are responsible to ensure the performance of these
functions by any third party administrators with whom they
contract to provide claims handling services.

3) DLHWC will enforce existing reporting requirements under
the LHWCA and its implementing regulations, including the
assessment of penalties where appropriate, for the following
reports:

a. Timely submission of the Form LS-202 -- Section 30(a) of
the Act requires the employer to file the Employer’s First
Report of Injury or Occupational Illness, Form LS-202,
within ten (10) days of the date of any injury which causes
loss of ome or more shifts of work or death or from the
date the employer has knowledge of the injury or death.

b. Timely submission of additional reports -- Section 30(b)
of the Act requires the submission of additional reports by
the employer as prescribed by the District Director.

c. Timely submission of the Form LS-208 -- Section 14(g) of
the Act requires the employer to submit within sixteen (16)
days after final payment of compensation notification to
the District Director that final payment has been made by
submitting the Form LS-208.

Please note that there are no new reporting requirements created
in these performance measures - only OWCP's intent to measure
and improve the industry’s compliance with existing standards.
Further, employers and insurance carriers are reminded that
continued authorization to operate as authorized self-insurers


and carriers under the Act is contingent on compliance with the
statute, regulations, and requirements of the program. 20 C.F.R.
§§ 703.108 and 703.312.

Questions regarding the implementation of the new benefit
facilitation initiative should be addressed in writing to
MICHAEL NISS, Director, Division of Longshore and Harbor
Workers’ Compensation, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs,
200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room C-4315, Washington, DC 20210.

Vichal (oe

MICHAEL NISS

Director, Division of
Longshore and Harbor

Workers’ Compensation