20 C.F.R. Subpart A—General Provisions
Title 20 - Employees' Benefits
(a) The War Hazards Compensation Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) provides for reimbursement of workers' compensation benefits paid under the Defense Base Act (42 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.), or under other workers' compensation laws as described in §61.100(a), for injury or death causally related to a war-risk hazard. (b) If no benefits are payable under the Defense Base Act or other applicable workers' compensation law, compensation is paid to the employee or survivors for the war-risk injury or death of— (1) Any person subject to workers' compensation coverage under the Defense Base Act; (2) Any person engaged by the United States under a contract for his or her personal services outside the continental United States; (3) Any person subject to workers' compensation coverage under the Nonappropriated Fund Instrumentalities Act (5 U.S.C. 8171 et seq.); (4) Any person engaged for personal services outside the continental United States under a contract approved and financed by the United States under the Mutual Security Act of 1954, as amended (other than title II of chapter II unless the Secretary of Labor, upon the recommendation of the head of any department or other agency of the U.S. Government, determines a contract financed under a successor provision of any successor Act should be covered by this subchapter), except that in cases where the United States is not a formal party to contracts approved and financed under the Mutual Security Act of 1954, as amended, the Secretary, upon the recommendation of the head of any department or agency of the United States, may waive the application of the Act; or (5) Any person engaged for personal services outside the continental United States by an American employer providing welfare or similar services for the benefit of the Armed Forces under appropriate authorization by the Secretary of Defense. (c) The Act also provides for payment of detention benefits to an employee specified in paragraph (a) of this section who— (1) If found to be missing from his or her place of employment under circumstances supporting a reasonable inference that the absence is due to the belligerent action of a hostile force or person; (2) Is known to have been taken by a hostile force or person as a prisoner or hostage; or (3) Is not returned to his or her home or to the place of employment due to the failure of the United States or its contractor to furnish transportation. (a) Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1706, Secretary of Labor's Order 6–84, (49 FR 32473), and Employment Standards Order 78–1, (43 FR 51469), the responsibility for administration of the Act has been delegated to the Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs. (b) In administering the provisions of the Act, the Director may enter into agreements or cooperative working arrangements with other agencies of the United States or of any State (including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) or political subdivisions thereof, and with other public agencies and private persons, agencies, or institutions within and outside the United States. The Director may also contract with insurance carriers for the use of their service facilities to process claims filed under the Act (a) This part 61 sets forth the rules applicable to the filing, processing, and payment of claims for reimbursement and workers' compensation benefits under the provisions of the War Hazards Compensation Act, as amended. The provisions of this part are intended to afford guidance and assistance to any person, insurance carrier, self-insured employer, or compensation fund seeking benefits under the Act, as well as to personnel within the Department of Labor who administer the Act. (b) Subpart A describes the statutory and administrative framework within which claims under the Act are processed, contains a statement of purpose and scope, and defines terms used in the administration of the Act. (c) Subpart B describes the procedure by which an insurance carrier, self-insured employer, or compensation fund shall file a claim for reimbursement under section 104 of the Act, and describes the procedures for processing a claim for reimbursement and transferring a case for direct payment by the Department of Labor. (d) Subpart C contains the rules governing the filing and processing of a claim for injury, disability or death benefits under section 101(a) of the Act. (e) Subpart D contains provisions relating to claims for detention benefits under section 101(b) of the Act. (f) Subpart E contains miscellaneous provisions concerning disclosure of program information, approval of claims for legal services, and assignment of claim. For the purpose of this part— (a) The Act means the War Hazards Compensation Act, 42 U.S.C. 1701 et seq., as amended. (b) Office or OWCP means the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, Employment Standards Administration, United States Department of Labor. (c) Contractor with the United States includes any contractor, subcontractor or subordinate subcontractor. (d) Carrier means any payer of benefits for which reimbursement is requested under the Act, and includes insurance carriers, self-insured employers and compensation funds. (e) War-risk hazard means any hazard arising during a war in which the United States is engaged; during an armed conflict in which the United States is engaged, whether or not war has been declared; or during a war or armed conflict between military forces of any origin, occurring within any country in which a person covered by the Act is serving; from— (1) The discharge of any missile (including liquids and gas) or the use of any weapon, explosive, or other noxious thing by a hostile force or person or in combating an attack or an imagined attack by a hostile force or person; (2) Action of a hostile force or person, including rebellion or insurrection against the United States or any of its allies; (3) The discharge or explosion of munitions intended for use in connection with a war or armed conflict with a hostile force or person (except with respect to employees of a manufacturer, processor, or transporter of munitions during the manufacture, processing, or transporting of munitions, or while stored on the premises of the manufacturer, processor, or transporter); (4) The collision of vessels in convoy or the operation of vessels or aircraft without running lights or without other customary peacetime aids to navigation; or (5) The operation of vessels or aircraft in a zone of hostilities or engaged in war activities. (f) Hostile force or person means any nation, any subject of a foreign nation, or any other person serving a foreign nation— (1) Engaged in a war against the United States or any of its allies; (2) Engaged in armed conflict, whether or not war has been declared, against the United States or any of its allies; or (3) Engaged in a war or armed conflict between military forces of any origin in any country in which a person covered by the Act is serving. (g) Allies means any nation with which the United States is engaged in a common military effort or with which the United States has entered into a common defensive military alliance. (h) War activities includes activities directly relating to military operations. (i) Continental United States means the States and the District of Columbia. (j) Injury means injury resulting from a war-risk hazard, as defined in this section, whether or not such injury occurred in the course of the person's employment, and includes any disease proximately resulting from a war-risk hazard. (k) Death means death resulting from an injury, as defined in this section. (l) The terms compensation, physician, and medical, surgical, and hospital services and supplies when used in subparts D and E are construed and applied as defined in the Federal Employees' Compensation Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. 8101 et seq.). (m) The terms disability, wages, child, grandchild, brother, sister, parent, widow, widower, student, adoption or adopted are construed and applied as defined in the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, as amended (35 U.S.C. 901 et seq.).
Title 20: Employees' Benefits
PART 61—CLAIMS FOR COMPENSATION UNDER THE WAR HAZARDS COMPENSATION ACT, AS AMENDED
Subpart A—General Provisions
§ 61.1 Statutory provisions
§ 61.2 Administration of the Act and this chapter.
§ 61.3 Purpose and scope of this part.
§ 61.4 Definitions and use of terms.
