NAFIA: Exchange & MWR Workers
Hurt working at a base exchange, an MWR program or a military club? NAFIA gives you Longshore Act benefits.
If you work for a military exchange, an MWR program or a club on a military base, you are usually not covered by state workers' comp or by the federal employees' program. You are covered by the Nonappropriated Fund Instrumentalities Act (NAFIA), which gives you the same benefits as the federal Longshore Act.
Daniel Weltin has handled Longshore Act claims since 2003, and he can help you with a NAFIA claim from start to finish.
NAFIA covers civilian employees of "nonappropriated fund instrumentalities." These are operations run by the armed forces for service members and their families and paid for mainly by their own sales and fees, not by Congress. They include:
Inside the continental United States, NAFIA covers these workers whatever their citizenship. Outside the continental U.S., it covers U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Other workers abroad are covered by military regulations instead.
NAFIA uses the Longshore Act deadlines. Give your employer written notice within 30 days of the injury, or of when you learned it was work related (33 U.S.C. § 912). File your claim with the U.S. Department of Labor within one year (33 U.S.C. § 913). Occupational disease claims have longer deadlines. Do not wait.
No. The Longshore Act, which applies to NAFIA claims, makes it illegal to fire or discriminate against a worker for filing a claim (33 U.S.C. § 948a).
Free consultation. Se habla español. Call (510) 856-4421.
Reviewed by Daniel Weltin, attorney at law. Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice for your case. Photo: Army and Air Force Exchange Service store at Camp Taji, Iraq (U.S. Air Force courtesy photo).
Call (510) 856-4421 or send the form. The consultation is free, in English or Spanish.
We make sure your employer has written notice and your claim is filed with the U.S. Department of Labor on time.
We help you choose your own doctor and push the employer or carrier to pay your disability benefits.
If benefits are denied or cut, we take the case to an informal conference and, if needed, an administrative law judge.
Hurt on a tug, barge, ferry or fishing boat? Your employer owes you more than maintenance and cure.
Hurt on the docks, in the yard or aboard ship? Protect your right to choose your own doctor.
Call (510) 856-4421. The consultation is free, in English or Spanish.
Hurt on the job in California? Get your medical care, disability checks and a fair settlement. Se habla español.
