Military baseIf you or someone you love has been injured while working as an employee of a federal government contractor on an American military base overseas, or on a public works project in another country, you may have concerns or questions about how you pursue workers’ compensation benefits. Recognizing the challenges that such a situation could present, the U.S. Congress enacted the Defense Base Act in 1941, extending all of the benefits available to injured workers under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (the “LHWCA”) to persons injured while working on a U.S. military base or public works project overseas.

The Benefits Available under the Defense Base Act

The LHWCA compensates an injured worker at a rate of 2/3rds of the difference between the worker’s “Average Weekly Wage (AWW)” at the time of injury, and the worker’s actual weekly wage after the injury. Accordingly, if you cannot work at all, you simply receive benefits that equal 2/3rds of your AWW at the time of injury. If, however, you have any income after the injury, it will offset the amount you receive. There is a cap to the benefits available, which is periodically adjusted to address inflation.

Determining the Average Weekly Wage

According to the statute, benefits are supposed to be calculated based on the employee’s wages as of “the time of injury.” Where a worker has been with the contractor for one year or more, the AWW is simply the average weekly wage for the last 52 weeks. If a worker has been employed for “substantially the whole of the year,” the AWW will be the total wages divided by the number of weeks worked. For workers with limited duration contracts, or who are injured shortly after starting work, the calculation becomes more difficult, with employers often arguing for inclusion of pre-employment wages in the calculation.

Contact Uliase & Uliase

At Uliase & Uliase, we have decades of experience representing federal workers in work-related injury claims. To schedule an appointment, contact our office online or call us at (856) 310-9002. We will meet with you weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. We offer a free consultation for injured workers.