Safety and Health Magazine: Lawmakers push for review of hearing loss claims among longshore workers

Leading House Education and Workforce Committee Republicans are calling on the Government Accountability Office to review hearing loss causes in the longshoring industry, saying many employers believe they’re compensating workers for cases that aren’t work-related.

“Each year, the maritime industry pays millions of dollars in claim settlements, awards and litigation costs due to workers’ compensation claims, including those related to hearing loss,” Reps. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) say in a Sept. 16 letter sent to GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro. “However, many employers in the port, marine terminal and shipbuilding industries contend that a significant portion of the hearing loss claims for which they must provide compensation are not the result of waterfront employment but instead from other noise-induced exposure or circumstances occurring outside workplace conditions.”

Walberg, who chairs the committee, and Mackenzie, chair of the House Workforce Protections Subcommittee, say the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act “has not been meaningfully updated since 1984” and “differs from other workers’ compensation programs with respect to hearing loss claims.” They add that it’s unclear to what extent the Department of Labor Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, which administers the act, “has updated its processes to account for modern medical advances in testing for and treatment of hearing loss to increase the accuracy” of claim determinations.

The lawmakers request written answers to these questions:

• How many LHWCA claims have been filed annually for the past five years and for what types of injuries, including those related to hearing loss? What are the age and other demographic characteristics of these claimants?
• To what extent do LHWCA and related federal regulations align with eligibility requirements, benefits and standards for other federal workers’ comp programs?
• What’s the incidence of fraud in LHWCA claims, what steps does OWCP take to ensure claims are related to workplace injury and what additional steps, if any, should OWCP take to reduce fraud?
• Given the LHWCA’s incentive structure, what potential actions could Congress consider, if any, to ensure claims paid under the LHWCA are only those claims related to workplace injuries?