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LegalText 42 U.S.C. § 7385s15 Office of Ombudsman us united_states_code code_section 42 THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE 84 DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 7385s15 42 U.S.C. § 7385s15 current 119-100 2026-06-26 official https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc42@119-100.zip /us/usc/t42/s7385s15 data/legal/raw/us/code/title-42/usc42.xml 1b3e31640631828ed8385e999642f33f71d798e97e87b70e7474c34d7b7cdc08 644321055a08eb1f260a6a3e31ac157fa024756abf612a9fd6857e7e400cf24e 4a5d10a5d491436f9f9ddd9c641badc2728b0b31fdeb9b7ad617ce8fe4d0996d 2026-07-04 official
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42 U.S.C. § 7385s15 - Office of Ombudsman

Text

(a) Establishment There is established in the Department of Labor an office to be known as the “Office of the Ombudsman” (in this section referred to as the “Office”).

(b) Head The head of the Office shall be the Ombudsman. The individual serving as Ombudsman shall be either of the following:

(1) An officer or employee of the Department of Labor designated by the Secretary for purposes of this section from among officers and employees of the Department who have experience and expertise necessary to carry out the duties of the Office specified in subsection (c).

(2) An individual employed by the Secretary from the private sector from among individuals in the private sector who have experience and expertise necessary to carry out the duties of the Office specified in subsection (c).

(c) Duties The duties of the Office shall be as follows:

(1) To provide information on the benefits available under this part and part B and on the requirements and procedures applicable to the provision of such benefits.

(2) To provide guidance and assistance to claimants.

(3) To make recommendations to the Secretary regarding the location of centers (to be known as “resource centers”) for the acceptance and development of claims for benefits under this part and part B.

(4) To carry out such other duties with respect to this part and part B as the Secretary shall specify for purposes of this section.

(d) Independent Office The Secretary shall take appropriate actions to ensure the independence of the Office within the Department of Labor, including independence from other officers and employees of the Department engaged in activities relating to the administration of the provisions of this part and part B.

(e) Annual report (1) Not later than July 30 each year, the Ombudsman shall submit to Congress a report on activities under this part and part B.

(2) Each report under paragraph (1) shall set forth the following:

(A) The number and types of complaints, grievances, and requests for assistance received by the Ombudsman under this part and part B during the preceding year.

(B) An assessment of the most common difficulties encountered by claimants and potential claimants under this part and part B during the preceding year.

(3) The first report under paragraph (1) shall be the report submitted in 2006.

(4) Not later than 180 days after the submission to Congress of the annual report under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to Congress in writing, and post on the public Internet website of the Department of Labor, a response to the report that—

(A) includes a statement of whether the Secretary agrees or disagrees with the specific issues raised by the Ombudsman in the report;

(B) if the Secretary agrees with the Ombudsman on those issues, describes the actions to be taken to correct those issues; and

(C) if the Secretary does not agree with the Ombudsman on those issues, describes the reasons the Secretary does not agree.

(f) Outreach The Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall each undertake outreach to advise the public of the existence and duties of the Office.

(g) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Ombudsman In carrying out the duties of the Ombudsman under this section, the Ombudsman shall work with the individual employed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to serve as an ombudsman to individuals making claims under part B.

(Pub. L. 106398, § 1 [div. C, title XXXVI, § 3686], as added Pub. L. 108375, div. C, title XXXI, § 3161, Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 2185; amended Pub. L. 110181, div. C, title XXXI, § 3116, Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 578; Pub. L. 11184, div. C, title XXXI, § 3142(a), Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2715; Pub. L. 113291, div. C, title XXXI, § 3141(b), Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3899; Pub. L. 11692, div. C, title XXXI, § 3134(a), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1958; Pub. L. 116283, div. C, title XXXI, § 3145, Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4387.)

Notes

Editorial Notes

Amendments2021—Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 116283 struck out subsec. (h) which read as follows: “Effective October 28, 2020, this section shall have no further force or effect.” 2019—Subsec. (c)(2) to (4). Pub. L. 11692, § 3134(a)(1), added par. (2) and redesignated former pars. (2) and (3) as (3) and (4), respectively. Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 11692, § 3134(a)(2), substituted “2020” for “2019”. 2014—Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 113291, § 3141(b)(1)(A), substituted “July 30” for “February 15”. Subsec. (e)(4). Pub. L. 113291, § 3141(b)(1)(B), added par. (4). Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 113291, § 3141(b)(2), substituted “2019” for “2012”. 2009—Subsecs. (c) to (e). Pub. L. 11184, § 3142(a)(1)(3), inserted “and part B” after “this part” wherever appearing. Subsecs. (g), (h). Pub. L. 11184, § 3142(a)(4), (5), added subsec. (g) and redesignated former subsec. (g) as (h). 2008—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 110181 substituted “October 28, 2012” for “on the date that is 3 years after October 28, 2004”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

ConstructionPub. L. 11184, div. C, title XXXI, § 3142(b), Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2716, provided that: “Except as specifically provided in subsection (g) of section 3686 of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 [42 U.S.C. 7385s15(g)], as amended by subsection (a) of this section, nothing in the amendments made by such subsection (a) shall be construed to alter or affect the duties and functions of the individual employed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to serve as an ombudsman to individuals making claims under subtitle B of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384l et seq.).”