5 U.S.C. § 8102a Death Gratuity For Injuries Incurred In Connection With Employee's Service With an Armed Force

• Library: United States Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-30 (published on www.congress.gov on 12/21/2023)
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 5 U.S.C. § 8102a

(a) DEATH GRATUITY AUTHORIZED.-The United States shall pay a death gratuity of up to $100,000 to or for the survivor prescribed by subsection (d) immediately upon receiving official notification of the death of an employee who dies of injuries incurred in connection with the employee's service with an Armed Force in a contingency operation.

(b) RETROACTIVE PAYMENT IN CERTAIN CASES.-At the discretion of the Secretary concerned, subsection (a) may apply in the case of an employee who died, on or after October 7, 2001, and before the date of enactment of this section, as a result of injuries incurred in connection with the employee's service with an Armed Force in the theater of operations of Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom.

(c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER BENEFITS.-The death gratuity payable under this section shall be reduced by the amount of any death gratuity provided under section 413 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, section 1603 of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery, 2006, or any other law of the United States based on the same death.

(d) ELIGIBLE SURVIVORS.-

(1) Subject to paragraph (5), a death gratuity payable upon the death of a person covered by subsection (a) shall be paid to or for the living survivor highest on the following list:

(A) The employee's surviving spouse.

(B) The employee's children, as prescribed by paragraph (2), in equal shares.

(C) If designated by the employee, any one or more of the following persons:

(i) The employee's parents or persons in loco parentis, as prescribed by paragraph (3).

(ii) The employee's brothers.

(iii) The employee's sisters.

(D) The employee's parents or persons in loco parentis, as prescribed by paragraph (3), in equal shares.

(E) The employee's brothers and sisters in equal shares.

Subparagraphs (C) and (E) of this paragraph include brothers and sisters of the half blood and those through adoption.

(2) Paragraph (1)(B) applies, without regard to age or marital status, to-

(A) legitimate children;

(B) adopted children;

(C) stepchildren who were a part of the decedent's household at the time of death;

(D) illegitimate children of a female decedent; and

(E) illegitimate children of a male decedent-

(i) who have been acknowledged in writing signed by the decedent;

(ii) who have been judicially determined, before the decedent's death, to be his children;

(iii) who have been otherwise proved, by evidence satisfactory to the employing agency, to be children of the decedent; or