appointed representative, provided the release of such information is not determined to pose a threat to the safety of the claimant, any other inmate, or staff.

§ 301.307 Notice, time and place of committee action.

(a) Committee action shall ordinarily occur within 60 days of the receipt of claimant's request, except as provided in this section. Notice of the date set for Committee action shall be mailed to the claimant at the claimant's last known address, or to claimant's duly appointed representative. All Committee action shall be conducted at the Central Office of the Bureau of Prisons, 320 First Street NW., Washington, DC 20534.

(b) A hearing or reconsideration may be postponed at the option of the Committee, or, if good cause is shown, upon request of the claimant. A claimant may change the request from either hearing to reconsideration or reconsideration to hearing, provided notice of such change is received at least 10 days prior to the previously scheduled action.

§301.308 Committee reconsideration.

If the claimant elects to have the Committee reconsider any decision of the Claims Examiner, the claimant may submit documentary evidence which the Committee shall consider in addition to the original record. The Committee must receive evidence no less than 10 days prior to the date of reconsideration, and may request additional documentary evidence from the claimant or any other source.

§301.309 In-person hearing before the

committee.

(a) The appeal shall be considered to have been abandoned if the claimant fails to appear at the time and place set for the hearing and does not, within 10 days after the time set for that hearing, show good cause for failure to appear.

(b) In conducting the hearing, the Committee is not bound by common law or statutory rules of evidence, or by technical or formal rules of procedure, but may conduct the hearing in such manner as to best ascertain the

rights and obligations of the claimant and the government. At such hearing, the claimant shall be afforded an opportunity to present evidence in support of the claim under review.

(c) The Committee shall consider all evidence presented by the claimant, and shall, in addition, consider any other evidence as the Committee may determine to be useful in evaluating the claim. Evidence may be presented orally and/or in the form of written statements and exhibits.

(d) A representative appointed in accordance with the provisions of this section may make or give, on behalf of the claimant, any request or notice relative to any proceeding before the Committee. A representative shall be entitled to present or elicit evidence or make allegations as to fact and law in any proceeding affecting the claimant and to request information with respect to the claim. Likewise, any request for additional information, or notice to any claimant of any administrative action, determination, or decision, may be sent to the representative of such claimant, and shall have the same force and effect as if it had been sent to the claimant.

(e) In order to fully evaluate the claim, the Committee may question the claimant and any witness(es) appearing before the Committee on behalf of the claimant or government.

(f) Claimant, or claimant's representative, may question the Committee or any witness(es) appearing before the Committee on behalf of the government, but only on matters determined by the Committee to be relevant to its evaluation of the claim.

(g) The hearing shall be recorded, and a copy of the recording or, at the discretion of the Committee, a transcript thereof shall be made available to the claimant upon request, provided such request is made not later than 90 days following the date of the hearing.

§301.310 Witnesses.

(a) If a claimant wishes to present witnesses at the hearing, the claimant must provide the Committee, no less than 10 days before the scheduled hearing date, the name and address of each proposed witness, along with an outline

of each witness' testimony. The Committee may limit the number of witnesses who may appear at a hearing, however, the Committee has no authority to compel the attendance of any witness.

(b) Any person confined in a Federal, State, or local penal or correctional institution at the time of the hearing may not appear as a witness, but that person's testimony may be submitted in the form of a written statement.

§301.311 Expenses associated with appearance at committee hearing.

Federal Prison Industries, Inc., may not assume responsibility for any expenses incurred by the claimant, claimant's representative, or any witness appearing on behalf of the claimant in connection with attendance at the hearing, as well as any other costs relating to any representative, witnesses, or evidence associated with a hearing before the Committee.

§301.312 Notice of committee determination.

The Committee shall mail written notice of its decision to affirm, reverse, or amend the Claims Examiner's initial determination, with the reasons for its decision, to the claimant at the claimant's last known address, or to claimant's duly appointed representative, no later than 30 days after the date of the hearing unless the Committee needs to make a further investigation as a result of information received at the hearing. If the Committee conducts further investigation subsequent to the hearing, the decision notice shall be mailed no later than 30 days after the conclusion of the Committee's investigation.

§301.313 Chief Operating Officer review.

Any claimant not satisfied with the Committee's reconsidered decision or decision after a hearing may appeal such decision to the Chief Operating Officer, Federal Prison Industries, Inc., 320 First Street NW., Washington, DC 20534. A written request for such an appeal must be received no later than 90 days after the date of notice of the Committee's decision. The Chief Operating Officer shall review the record

and affirm, reverse or amend the Committee's decision no later than 90 days after receipt of claimant's notice of appeal. Written notice of the Chief Operating Officer's decision shall be mailed to the claimant's last known address, or to the claimant's representative.

§301.314 Establishing the amount of award.

(a) If a claim for Inmate Accident Compensation is approved, the amount of compensation shall be based upon the degree of physical impairment existent at the time of the claimant's release regardless of when during the claimant's period of confinement the injury was sustained. No claim for compensation will be approved if full recovery occurs while the inmate is in custody and no impairment remains at the time of release.

(b) In determining the amount of accident compensation to be paid, the permanency and severity of the injury in terms of functional impairment shall be considered. The provisions of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) (5 U.S.C. 8101, et seq.) shall be followed when practicable. The FECA establishes a set number of weeks of compensation applicable for injuries to specific body members or organs (section 8107).

(c) All awards of Inmate Accident Compensation shall be based upon the minimum wage (as prescribed by the Fair Labor Standards Act).

(1) For body members or organs covered under section 8107, the minimum wage applicable at the time of the award shall be used as the basis for determining the amount of compensation. Awards regarding injury to body members or organs covered under section 8107 shall be paid in a lump sum. Acceptance of such an award shall constitute full and final settlement of the claim for compensation.

(2) For body members or organs not covered under section 8107, awards will be paid on a monthly basis because such awards are subject to periodic review of entitlement. The minimum wage applicable at the time of each monthly payment shall be used in determining the amount of each monthly payment. Monthly payments are ordinarily mailed the first day of the

month following the month in which the award is effective.

§301.315 Review of entitlement.

(a) Each monthly compensation recipient shall be required, upon request of the Claims Examiner, to submit to a medical examination, by a physician specified or approved by the Claims Examiner, to determine the current status of his physical impairment. Any reduction in the degree of physical impairment revealed by this examination shall result in a commensurate reduction in the amount of monthly compensation provided. Failure to submit to this physical examination shall be deemed refusal, and shall ordinarily result in denial of future compensation. The costs associated with this examination shall be borne by Federal Prison Industries, Inc.

(b) Inasmuch as compensation awards are based upon the minimum wage, any income received by a compensation recipient which exceeds the annual income available at the minimum wage (based upon a 40 hour work week), including Social Security or veterans benefits received as the result of the work-related injury for which Inmate Accident Compensation has been awarded, shall be deemed excessive. The amount of compensation payable to a claimant with an income deemed excessive shall be reduced at the rate of one dollar for each two dollars of earned and benefit income which exceeds the annual income available at minimum wage. Each monthly compensation recipient shall be required to provide a statement of earnings on an annual basis, or as otherwise requested. Failure to provide this statement shall result in the suspension or denial of all Inmate Accident Compensation benefits until such time as satisfactory evidence of continued eligibility is provided.

§301.316 Subsequent incarceration of

compensation recipient.

If a claimant, who has been awarded compensation on a monthly basis, is or becomes incarcerated at any federal, state, or local correctional facility, monthly compensation payments payable to the claimant shall ordinarily be suspended until such time as the claim

ant is released from the correctional facility.

[59 FR 2667, Jan. 18, 1994]

§ 301.317 Medical treatment following release.

Federal Prison Industries, Inc., may not pay the cost of medical, hospital treatment, or any other related expense incurred after release from confinement unless such cost is authorized by the Claims Examiner in advance, or the Claims Examiner determines that circumstances warrant the waiver of this requirement. Generally, the payment of such costs is limited to impairment evaluations, or treatments intended to reduce the degree of physical impairment, conducted at the direction of the Claims Examiner. The amount of a payment for medical treatment is limited to reasonable expenses incurred, such as those amounts authorized under the applicable fee schedule established pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1395w-4 for the Department of Health and Human Services Medicare program.

[55 FR 9296, Mar. 12, 1990, as amended at 59 FR 2667, Jan. 18, 1994]

§301.318 Civilian compensation laws distinguished.

The Inmate Accident Compensation system is not obligated to comply with the provisions of any other system of worker's compensation except where stated in this part. Awards made under the provisions of the Inmate Accident Compensation procedure differ from awards made under civilian workmen's compensation laws in that hospitalization is usually completed prior to the inmate's release from the institution and, except for a three-day waiting period, the inmate receives wages while absent from work. Other factors necessarily must be considered that do not enter into the administration of civilian workmen's compensation laws. As in the case of federal employees who allege they have sustained work-related injuries, the burden of proof lies with the claimant to establish that the claimed impairment is causally related to the claimant's work assignment.

§301.319 Exclusiveness of remedy.

Inmates who are subject to the provisions of these Inmate Accident Compensation regulations are barred from recovery under the Federal Tort Claims Act (28 U.S.C. 2671 et seq.). Recovery under the Inmate Accident Compensation procedure was declared by the U.S. Supreme Court to be the exclusive remedy in the case of workrelated injury. U.S. v. Demko, 385 U.S. 149 (1966).

[55 FR 9296, Mar. 12, 1990, as amended at 59 FR 2667, Jan. 18, 1994]

PART 302-COMMENTS ON UNICOR BUSINESS OPERATIONS

AUTHORITY: 18 U.S.C. 4126, 28 CFR 0.99, and by resolution of the Board of Directors of Federal Prison Industries, Inc.

§302.1 Public and private sector comment procedures.

(a) Any interested party having any comment concerning the business operations of Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (UNICOR) may write to the Chief Operating Officer of UNICOR, or to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of UNICOR, and bring such matters to the attention of either or both officials. Where appropriate, a response shall promptly be made. The Board shall be kept advised of all comments and responses.

(b) Correspondence should be addressed as follows:

(1) Chief Operating Officer, Federal Prison Industries, Inc., 320 First Street, NW., ACACIA Bldg. Room 615, Washington, DC 20534, Attn: Comment Procedures; or

(2) Board of Directors, Federal Prison Industries, Inc., P.O. Box 2807, Washington, DC 20013-2807, Attn: Comment Procedures.

(c) This section does not apply to inmate complaints which are properly raised through the procedures provided in the Bureau of Prisons' rule on Administrative Remedy (28 CFR part 42). [55 FR 30668, July 26, 1990]

Subpart A-Purpose and Scope

§ 345.10 Purpose and scope.

It is the policy of the Bureau of Prisons to provide work to all inmates (including inmates with a disability who, with or without reasonable accommodations, can perform the essential tasks of the work assignment) confined in a federal institution. Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (FPI) was established as a program to provide meaningful work for inmates. This work is designed to allow inmates the opportunity to acquire the knowledge, skills, and work habits which will be useful when released from the institution. There is no statutory requirement that inmates be paid for work in an industrial assignment. 18 U.S.C. 4126, however, provides for discretionary compensation to inmates working in Industries. Under this authority, inmates of the same grade jobs, regardless of the basis of pay (hourly, group piece, or individual piece rates) shall receive approximately the same compensation. All pay rates under this part are established at the discretion of Federal Prison Industries, Inc. Any alteration or termination of the rates shall require the approval of the Federal Prison Industries' Board of Directors. While the Warden is responsible for the local administration of Inmate Industrial Payroll regulations, no pay system is initiated or changed without prior approval of the Assistant Director, Industries, Education and Vocational Training (Assistant Director).

Industries,

Inc.

(a) Federal Prison (FPI) A government corporation organizationally within the Bureau of Prisons whose mission is to provide work simulation programs and training opportunities for inmates confined in Federal correctional facilities. The commercial or "trade" name of Federal Prison Industries, Inc. is UNICOR. Most factories or shops of Federal Prison Industries, Inc. are commonly referred to as "UNICOR" or as "Industries". Where these terms are used, they refer to FPI production locations and to the corporation as a whole. UNICOR, FPI, and Industries are used interchangeably in this manner. For these purposes, Federal Prison Industries, Inc. will hereinafter be referred to as FPI.

(b) Superintendent of Industries (SOI)— The Superintendent of Industries, also referred to as Associate Warden/Industries and Education, is responsible for the efficient management and operation of an FPI factory. Hereinafter, referred to as SOI.

(c) FPI work status- Assignment to an Industries work detail.

(1) An inmate is in FPI work status if on the job, on sick call during the inmate's assigned hours, on furlough, on vacation, for the first thirty days on writ, for the first 30 days in administrative detention, or for the first 30 days on medical idle for FPI work-related injury so long as the injury did not result from an intentional violation by the inmate of work safety standards.

(2) Full-time work status. A work schedule for an inmate consisting of 90% or more of the normal FPI factory work week.

(3) Part-time work status. A work schedule of less than 90% of the normal FPI factory work week.

(d) Unit Team- Bureau of Prisons staff responsible for the management of inmates and the delivery of programs and services. The Unit Team may consist of a unit manager, case manager, correctional counselor, unit