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The latest news from Bosson Legal Group, P.C. Bosson Legal Group, led by Tim Bosson, provides legal services in the areas of for-profit and nonprofit corporation law and civil litigation to individuals and organizations throughout Northern Virginia and D.C., including Fairfax, Merrifield, Falls Church and the jurisdictions of Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Arlington County, Prince William County and the City of Alexandria.

One Way Your DBA Insurance Carrier May Be Scamming You Out of Workers’ Compensation that is Rightfully Yours

Workers who are injured as a result of working for U.S. contractors in places like Afghanistan and Iraq should expect to be taken care of by their employer and their employer’s Defense Base Act insurance carrier. But some DBA insurance companies are not paying foreign workers all that is due to them all the while telling the U.S. Dept. of Labor that they are sending the full amount.

These carriers send payments to the injured workers they insure overseas, but instead of paying for international bank transfer fees themselves, they are allowing the fees to be deducted from the compensation that is due to the worker.

So, if Client A is being paid a compensation rate of $1,000/week, he should be receiving $2,000 every 2 weeks. [1] But what some of our international clients are finding is that instead of receiving $2,000 in their bank account they may only receive $1,950. A quick inquiry to their local bank will show that the missing funds were taken out as as a transfer fee.

How do you know how much you’re supposed to receive?

We help our clients to determine how much they should be receiving under the law.  But, if you want to at least see what the insurance company thinks you should be receiving, take a look at the LS-208 form which they are required to submit to the U.S. Department of Labor and which they are supposed to send you a copy.

In box 8, they must indicate both the “Average Weekly Wage” and the “Compensation Rate.” 

One Way Your DBA Insurance Carrier May Be Scamming You Out of Workers’ Compensation that is Rightfully Yours 1.png

It’s the compensation rate that tells you how much they think they’re supposed to be sending you per week.

Box 15 shows the amounts that they are telling the OWCP that they have paid you.

One Way Your DBA Insurance Carrier May Be Scamming You Out of Workers’ Compensation that is Rightfully Yours 2.png

If the amount the Insurance Company is telling the Dept. of Labor they are paying you does not line up with how much you are actually receiving, you should contact a knowledgeable attorney right away.

[1] Actually the Act says that injured workers should be paid twice per month, but that is another topic for another day.

John Vinci has worked to help get compensation for scores of injured employees of U.S. contractors under the DBA. You can contact him using our Contact Form.

*Disclaimer: Results depend on the specific legal and factual circumstances of each case.  John Vinci and Bosson Legal Group, P.C. cannot guarantee specific results, and any examples or previous case experiences should not be taken as a promise of similar results.  This information does not constitute legal advice. You should consult an attorney regarding the specific details of your case.

Guest UserDBA, Bosson Legal Group, John Vinci