Opinion ID: 3030609
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Abbott Applies to the Present Case

Text: General Construction further argues that even if Abbott is a valid interpretation of the LHWCA, it is inapplicable here because Castro’s situation differs significantly from that of the claimant in Abbott. Specifically, (1) Castro’s program did not involve an agreement with the OWCP that expressly forbade his employment during the program; (2) General Construction itself never agreed to the rehabilitation plan; (3) the evidence showed Castro could work while enrolled in his rehabilitation program; (4) Castro was not diligent in attempting to locate work while pursuing the program; (5) completion of the program would not increase Castro’s earning capacity; and (6) Castro, unlike the claimant in Abbott, suffered scheduled injuries, and Pepco therefore limits Castro to recovery under the LHWCA’s schedule. [3] We agree with the Fourth Circuit in Newport News that Abbott did not set forth a rigid rule and that a number of factors enumerated by the BRB may be relevant to determining whether an individual may receive benefits while enrolled in a rehabilitation program. These include whether enrollment in the rehabilitation program precludes any employment; whether the employer agreed to the rehabilitation plan and continuing payment of temporary total disability benefits; whether completion of the program would benefit the claimant by increasing his wage-earning capacity; and whether the claimant showed full diligence in completing the program. Newport News, 315 F.3d at 293 (citing Gregory, 32 Ben. Rev. Bd. Serv. 264). The Fourth Circuit observed that no one of worker in vocational rehabilitation who is being rendered fit for remunerative occupation “shall receive additional compensation necessary for his maintenance, but such additional compensation shall not exceed $25 a week.” 33 U.S.C. § 908(g) (emphasis added). This language indicates Congress’s intent that the fee be paid in addition to—not in place of— other appropriate compensation. 2414 GENERAL CONSTRUCTION CO. v. CASTRO these factors, standing alone, should necessarily be considered determinative. 315 F.3d at 295-96. [4] With respect to General Construction’s first argument, the ALJ noted that the BRB has interpreted Abbott to require only that a claimant show that, as a practical matter, he cannot obtain suitable alternative employment, not that he is contractually precluded from working. See Kee, 33 Ben. Rev. Bd. Serv. at 223. This approach makes sense given the language and purposes of the LHWCA, which provides for compensation for a claimant’s reduced earning capacity under a variety of circumstances. See, e.g., 33 U.S.C. §§ 902(10) (defining “disability”), 908(a) (providing for determination of permanent total disability “in accordance with the facts”). A claimant’s earning capacity suffers as a result of his inability to engage in alternative employment, regardless of the cause of that inability. We agree with the ALJ that neither Abbott nor the LHWCA should be read to require that the inability have a contractual basis. With respect to General Construction’s second argument, the ALJ noted that General Construction objected to the rehabilitation plan and to continued benefits. But the ALJ also reasoned that allowing employers an effective veto power over OWCP-approved rehabilitation programs would undermine the LHWCA’s general policy of encouraging rehabilitation. We agree. There was no error in the ALJ’s decision that General Construction’s objection to the rehabilitation program does not sufficiently distinguish Castro’s case from Abbott. With respect to General Construction’s third argument, regarding evidence of Castro’s ability to work while pursuing his rehabilitation program, the ALJ evaluated relevant evidence, including the testimony of Castro and vocational experts Carol Williams and Kent Shafer. The ALJ based his decision that Castro could not work while pursuing his program mainly on Castro’s uncontradicted testimony that, including commuting, class, and study time, he devoted GENERAL CONSTRUCTION CO. v. CASTRO 2415 between forty-six and fifty-four hours per week to completion of the program.8 General Construction notes that Castro worked briefly in a paid internship. But Castro had to resign this internship after eighty hours of work because of the demands of his rehabilitation program. The ALJ found this to be evidence that Castro was willing but unable to work, despite testimony to the contrary by General Construction’s expert. The ALJ’s factual finding is supported by substantial evidence. 33 U.S.C. § 921(b)(3); Container Stevedoring Co., 935 F.2d at 1546. The ALJ similarly considered General Construction’s fourth argument, that Castro failed to show he searched diligently for work while pursuing his rehabilitation program. This argument is largely foreclosed by the ALJ’s determination that the time demands of Castro’s program precluded his employment during the program. Castro also presented evidence that he investigated jobs identified by General Construction but found them either unavailable or impracticable because of his commute. The ALJ’s finding is thus supported by substantial evidence. The ALJ also found that Castro was diligent in completing his program. See Newport News, 315 F.3d at 293 (citing Gregory, 32 Ben. Rev. Bd. Serv. 264). The ALJ found that, although Castro expressed concerns about falling behind in school, his records indicated that his enrollment since 1999 had not been significantly interrupted and that at the time of the hearing he was on schedule to complete his program. The ALJ’s finding that Castro had pursued his degree in the program diligently is supported by substantial evidence. The ALJ also considered General Construction’s fifth argu- 8 Williams stated that Castro’s intellectual capacity and long commute would make combining school with a job difficult, while Shafer noted that travel requirements combined with cognitive capacity could prevent some people from working while in school. 2416 GENERAL CONSTRUCTION CO. v. CASTRO ment, that Abbott should not apply because Castro’s rehabilitation program was not designed to improve his earning capacity. The ALJ noted that, although hotel management starting salaries were comparable to the salaries in the jobs General Construction had identified, Castro’s vocational advisors reasonably determined that training in hotel management would give Castro the best long-term earning potential.9 The ALJ was correct to focus on Castro’s long-term wage-earning prospects in assessing the rehabilitation program, see Newport News, 315 F.3d at 295-95 (“an immediate increase in wage earning capacity . . . is not . . . determinative”); Abbott, 40 F.3d at 128 (looking to employee’s long-term increase in wage-earning capacity in assessing reasonableness of vocational rehabilitation program), and his factual determination that Castro’s rehabilitation program provided the best longterm wage-earning prospects is supported by substantial evidence. [5] Neither the ALJ nor the BRB considered at length General Construction’s argument concerning the application of Pepco, 449 U.S. 268 (1980), to Castro’s case. However, the ALJ’s interpretation of the scope of Pepco correctly precluded application of that case to Castro’s claim for total disability benefits during his rehabilitation program. In Pepco, the Supreme Court held that where a claimant is entitled to partial disability benefits for a scheduled injury, those benefits are the claimant’s exclusive remedy; a claimant with a scheduled injury may not elect to recover benefits for partial disability on the basis of the claimant’s loss in earning capacity. Id. at 273-74. General Construction argues that if a claimant has a scheduled injury, and the employer shows that the claimant is employable, the claimant cannot also be entitled to an award of total disability benefits during a rehabilitation program; the argument implies that allowing recovery for the time spent in 9 Williams estimated that Castro could earn between $30,000 and $40,000 annually as a hotel manager, as compared to the $16,640 to $25,000 potential of the jobs identified by General Construction. GENERAL CONSTRUCTION CO. v. CASTRO 2417 the rehabilitation program is analogous to allowing recovery for a loss in earning capacity. The argument fails because, as the ALJ correctly noted, Pepco addresses only the statutory provisions for partial disability benefits. See id. at 274 & n.8; see also Brown, 34 Ben. Rev. Bd. Serv. at 198 (finding scheduled nature of claimant’s injury irrelevant to appropriateness of rehabilitation program and award of benefits for that period); Gregory, 32 Ben. Rev. Bd. Serv. at 265-66 (noting that “where claimant is totally disabled the schedule does not apply” and that “the fact that any permanent partial disability would be covered by the schedule is not determinative of the total disability issue”). Since Pepco does not address computations of awards for temporary total disability, which is the focus of the Abbott rule, we agree with the ALJ and the BRB that the scheduled or unscheduled nature of a claimant’s injury is irrelevant. [6] We conclude that the ALJ and BRB did not err in finding that Castro’s case did not differ materially from Abbott and Newport News so as to preclude application of the Abbott rule. We therefore affirm the award of permanent total disability benefits to Castro during his participation in his OWCP-approved rehabilitation program.