What You Need to Know About the Defense Base Act
- Ten Tolentino
- Feb 3
- 2 min read
The Defense Base Act (DBA) offers federal workers’ compensation that cover injuries suffered while working on an international base. If you are or a loved one is a civilian who was injured while working for a company that performs overseas operations for the U.S. Department of Defense, you might be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits under the DBA. The Defense Base Act (42 U.S. Code § 1651) gives civilian employees workers’ compensation protection when they work (1) on United States military bases outside the country or (2) under a contract with our government for public works or national defense.
DBA Compensation / Benefits:
Medical treatment
Loss of earnings
Disability compensation
Death benefits
Vocational rehabilitation
When an employee dies on the job, death benefits accrue to the employee’s dependents in varying amounts based on the number of survivors. Up to $3000 of funeral expenses are compensated as well.
Who is covered?
Employees of private entities on U.S. military bases or lands used by our government for military purposes
Employees under public work contracts with any U.S. government agency, including contracts related to national defense or war operations
Employees under Foreign Assistance Act contracts approved and funded by the U.S. government
Employees of U.S. companies providing welfare or related services for the benefit of the military
Employees of subcontractors on a contract for any of the above projects
Employees of American contractors performing public works at a military base in a U.S. territory outside the continent in support of military assistance programs within allied nations
Some of the companies that hire civilian employees to perform operations for the U.S. Department of Defense are:
Blackwater
Halliburton
Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR)
Bechtel
Dyncorp
CACI
Service Employees International
Fluor
AECOM
Global Linguist Solutions
DRS Technologies
Triple Canopy
SCI
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