A Supreme Court decision in the class action case of Marine Corps Veteran Simon Soto vs. the United States will result in some Veterans being entitled to additional back pay. A federal law known as the Barring Act, which was passed by Congress in 1940, generally requires individuals to file compensation claims against the United States Government within six years of those claims accruing—in other words, the date of the injury.
The federal government had been applying this statute to Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC), which limits the amount of retroactive compensation the Veteran would receive when the compensation was granted. CRSC, enacted by Congress in 2002, is additional monthly pay awarded to certain service members who retire due to a service-connected disability. CRSC is paid and administered by the Department of Defense rather than the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Under federal law, retired Veterans generally must waive a portion of their military retirement pay in order to receive disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Under the CRSC statute, a retired Veteran who establishes that his disability is attributable to a combat-related injury may receive special compensation up to the amount of waived retired pay.
Simon A. Soto was medically retired in 2006 and received a disability rating from the federal VA in 2009. He applied for CRSC in 2016 and received back pay with an effective date of 2010 rather than January 1, 2008 — the effective date of the statutory amendment that expanded CRSC eligibility to include combat-disabled medical retirees who served fewer than 20 years.
Attorneys for Soto argued that the federal government misapplied the Barring Act Statute of limitations and that the CRSC established its own compensation scheme, which overrides the Barring Act and does not include a statute of limitations or expressly limit the number of months for which an applicant may obtain payment.
The District Court ruled in Soto’s favor, but it was overturned in the Federal Court and the Court of Appeals. It was eventually heard in the U.S. Supreme Court, where it was decided in Soto’s favor in a 9-0 decision.
Veterans who were granted CRSC and limited to six years of retroactive compensation but had been retired more than six years at the time the claim was filed should meet with a VSO as soon as possible to claim the additional retroactive CRSC compensation that may be due to them.
If you or a loved one may qualify for retroactive CRSC compensation, the West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance can help you file your claim. Find a Benefits Office near you.