Who Qualifies as a Local National Employee Under the DBA?
A construction worker in Kabul is injured on a U.S. military base expansion project. He is Afghan, hired locally by a subcontractor working under a USACE prime contract. He has never set foot in the United States. His employer tells him workers' compensation does not apply to him.
His employer is wrong. The Defense Base Act extends coverage to employees working on U.S. government contracts outside the United States, regardless of the employee's nationality. Local national employees, meaning citizens of the host country hired to work on covered contracts, have the same statutory right to DBA benefits as American citizens working alongside them.
This principle is grounded in the text of the DBA itself. The statute covers "any employee" engaged in employment "under a contract" with the U.S. government for public works or military purposes outside the continental United States. The statute does not limit coverage to U.S. citizens or permanent residents. An Afghan citizen, a Filipino carpenter, a Ugandan security guard, each has DBA rights if the employment and contract requirements are met.
Yet local national DBA claims are among the most frequently disputed and most difficult to prosecute. The challenges are practical, procedural, and sometimes strategic. Understanding these challenges is the first step toward overcoming them.
Why Do Local National Claims Face Higher Dispute Rates?
Carriers and employers contest local national claims at rates that exceed disputes on U.S. citizen claims. Several factors drive this pattern.
First, documentation is sparse. A U.S. citizen hired by KBR to work in Iraq typically has a formal employment contract, onboarding paperwork, W-2 tax documents, and digital HR records. A local national hired through a labor broker in Kandahar may have nothing more than a handwritten receipt and a verbal agreement. Proving the employment relationship, the terms of employment, the wages earned, and the connection to a covered contract all become contested factual issues.
Second, the chain of employment is often murky. Local nationals are frequently hired through intermediaries. A prime contractor hires a subcontractor, which hires a local staffing agency, which hires individual workers. Each layer in this chain creates opportunities for the employer to argue that the injured worker was not "their" employee or that the work was not performed under a covered contract.
Third, access to legal representation is limited. An injured Afghan or Iraqi worker may not know that U.S. federal law provides benefits for their injury. Even if they learn about the DBA, finding an attorney licensed to practice before the DOL who is willing to take a case for a client located overseas presents practical barriers. Language differences, time zone challenges, and communication limitations compound the problem.
Fourth, carriers sometimes calculate that overseas claimants are less likely to pursue appeals. The DOL and BRB adjudication process is based in the United States. Attending hearings, providing testimony, and producing medical evidence are all more difficult for a claimant located in a developing country without reliable mail service or internet access.
What Documentation Challenges Arise in Local National Claims?
The most common documentation gap in local national claims is proof of the employment relationship itself. Without a written employment contract, the claimant must establish employment through circumstantial evidence. Badges, gate access logs, payroll records (if available), witness statements from co-workers, and photographs of the claimant at the worksite all serve as evidence.
Wage documentation presents a related challenge. DBA benefits are calculated based on the employee's average weekly wage. For U.S. citizen employees, this calculation draws on pay stubs, tax records, and employment agreements. For local nationals paid in cash, often in local currency, establishing the average weekly wage requires reconstructing the pay history from whatever records exist.
Medical documentation is the third major gap. Injured local nationals often receive initial treatment at local hospitals or clinics that do not generate records meeting U.S. medical documentation standards. Translating medical records from Dari, Arabic, or Tagalog into English adds cost and delay. Obtaining follow-up independent medical examinations may require the claimant to travel to a facility capable of producing records in a format the DOL will accept.
Contract documentation is sometimes the hardest piece to obtain. The claimant needs to establish that their employer was performing work under a covered U.S. government contract. The claimant rarely has access to the contract itself. Attorneys must use contract databases, FOIA requests, and federal procurement records to trace the chain from the claimant's immediate employer up to the prime contract that triggers DBA coverage.
ClaimTrove's investigation engine searches 43,298 prime contract awards and 4,315 subcontract awards in its database. By entering the employer name and the location of the worksite, attorneys can identify the prime contract, the awarding agency, and the contract period, all of which support the coverage argument for a local national claim.
How Do BRB Decisions Address Local National Coverage?
The Benefits Review Board has addressed local national coverage issues in multiple published and unpublished decisions. These decisions establish several principles that attorneys handling local national claims should know.
The threshold coverage question is whether the claimant was an "employee" within the meaning of the DBA. BRB decisions have applied the "economic reality" test, looking at the totality of the working relationship rather than formal contract labels. A worker designated as an "independent contractor" by a labor broker may still qualify as an employee if the hiring entity controlled the manner and means of the work.
Decisions have also addressed the "situs" requirement for local national claims. The DBA requires that the injury occur on or near a military base, embassy, or other covered site. For local nationals commuting to a worksite on a U.S. military installation, the commute itself may or may not be covered depending on the specific facts and the route between the worker's home and the installation gate.
Benefit calculation for local nationals working in low-wage economies has generated disputes. The DBA does not adjust benefit calculations based on the cost of living in the claimant's home country. A worker earning $200 per week in Afghanistan is entitled to the same percentage-based benefits as a U.S. worker, calculated on their actual wages. Carriers have occasionally argued for reduced benefits based on local economic conditions, but BRB decisions have consistently rejected this approach.
ClaimTrove's database of 5,022 BRB decisions is searchable by keyword and through semantic vector search. Attorneys preparing local national claims can find relevant precedent by searching for the country, the employer, or the specific legal issue at stake. Each decision links to the original PDF on dol.gov for full-text review.
What Carrier Obligations Apply to Local National Claims?
DBA carriers are obligated to provide coverage and pay benefits for local national employees on the same terms as any other covered employee. The carrier cannot deny a claim solely because the claimant is not a U.S. citizen. The carrier cannot impose additional documentation requirements that go beyond what the statute and regulations require.
In practice, carriers handling local national claims must navigate several operational challenges. Arranging medical treatment in countries with limited healthcare infrastructure requires coordination. Paying benefits in local currency at the correct exchange rate requires financial systems that accommodate international transfers. Communicating with claimants who speak languages other than English requires translation services.
These operational costs are part of the carrier's obligation under the DBA policy. Carriers that accepted premiums for policies covering overseas operations, including local national employees, cannot refuse to administer claims for those employees when injuries occur.
Identifying the correct carrier for a local national claim follows the same process as any DBA claim, with the added complexity of employer name variations in non-English alphabets. A local national's employer might be recorded in DOL filings under a transliterated name that differs from the English-language name in contract databases. Alias resolution across these name variants is essential.
How Can You Strengthen a Local National DBA Claim?
Build the contract chain early. Before worrying about medical evidence or wage calculations, establish that your client's employer was performing work under a covered U.S. government contract. Use federal contract databases to identify the prime contract, the awarding agency, and the performance period. If the awarding agency had a mandatory DBA carrier during the relevant period, the carrier identification is resolved.
Collect employment evidence broadly. Photographs, co-worker statements, gate logs, equipment receipts, any documentation placing the claimant at the worksite during the employment period strengthens the claim. Local nationals often have cell phone photos from the worksite that can be geotagged and timestamped.
Obtain medical records in both the original language and English translation. Submit both versions to the DOL to demonstrate transparency and avoid disputes about translation accuracy. If the claimant needs a follow-up medical examination, identify a facility in the region that can produce documentation meeting U.S. standards.
Document wages through every available channel. Bank deposits, mobile money transfers, remittance records, and even testimony from co-workers about pay rates all contribute to establishing the average weekly wage.
ClaimTrove helps attorneys build the contract chain for local national claims by searching 18 federal data sources simultaneously. Enter the employer name and work location, and the engine identifies prime contracts, subcontract relationships, awarding agencies, and mandatory carrier periods that apply to your client's claim.