Opinion ID: 3030609
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: general construction’s procedural

Text: RIGHTS General Construction argues that it demanded, but was improperly denied, a hearing before an ALJ to determine the necessity of a vocational rehabilitation program for Castro before that plan was implemented. According to General Construction, the LHWCA provides it with the right to an ALJ hearing upon request. 33 U.S.C. § 919(c), (d). General Construction also contends that the OWCP violated its Fifth 15 We even noted in Matulic that it might be neither unfair nor unreasonable to apply § 10(a) in a case involving a claimant who had worked less than 75% of 260 days. 154 F.3d at 1058. 2424 GENERAL CONSTRUCTION CO. v. CASTRO Amendment due process rights when the OWCP imposed compensation liability on General Construction for the duration of a rehabilitation plan into which it had no input.16 We address these arguments in turn. A. The OWCP Did Not Violate General Construction’s Statutory Procedural Rights The LHWCA provisions General Construction cites state only that “the deputy commissioner shall make or cause to be made such investigations as he considers necessary in respect of the claim, and upon application of any interested party shall order a hearing thereon,” 33 U.S.C. § 919(c), and that such hearings will be governed by the APA. Id. § 919(d). [11] We recently described the scope of § 919(c) in Healy Tibbitts, 201 F.3d at 1094. We held that “section 919(c) does not necessarily require an evidentiary hearing before an ALJ on all contested issues.” Healy Tibbitts, 201 F.3d at 1093. We held that ALJs in fact lack jurisdiction over certain disputes, in particular those involving “strictly legal issues,” id. at 1095, and matters within the discretion of a District Director turning on assessments of “reasonableness” and not involving factual questions resolvable by an ALJ, id. at 1097. Thus, the existence of a dispute does not in itself trigger a right to a hearing under the LHWCA. 16 General Construction also argues more broadly that the rule in Abbott is “unconstitutional” because it deprives employers of due process. But an employer may receive a hearing if it controverts or contests an injured employee’s claim for benefits. See 33 U.S.C. §§ 914(d), (h). And if an ALJ determines that an employer paid a claimant more in benefits than required by law, the ALJ may order deduction of the overpayment from future payments to the claimant. See, e.g., Bush v. I.T.O. Corp., 32 Ben. Rev. Bd. Serv. (MB) 213, 215 n.5 (1998) (noting ALJ’s order that overpayment be recovered by deductions from claimant’s continuing benefit payments). Given these safeguards, Abbott puts employers at no risk of suffering any kind of permanent wrongful deprivation. GENERAL CONSTRUCTION CO. v. CASTRO 2425 [12] The dispute in the present case concerned the initial reasonableness of the vocational rehabilitation plan undertaken by Castro and approved by the OWCP. This determination, while not entirely a legal issue, Healy Tibbitts, 201 F.3d at 1095, turned on a “reasonableness” decision and did not require any factual determinations of disputed issues by an ALJ, id. at 1097. Moreover, the LHWCA and its accompanying regulations commit the direction and therefore also the approval of such rehabilitation programs to the discretion of the Director. See 33 U.S.C. § 939(c)(2) (“The Secretary shall direct the vocational rehabilitation of permanently disabled employees.”); 20 C.F.R. §§ 701.202 (delegating to OWCP Director authority for administering LHWCA), 701.301(a)(6), (7) (delegating to District Director administrative approval authorities of OWCP Director), 702.506 (providing that “[t]he vocational rehabilitation advisor shall arrange for and develop all vocational training programs”). Under Healy Tibbitts, the LHWCA did not entitle General Construction to an ALJ hearing on the reasonableness of Castro’s rehabilitation plan prior to the implementation of that plan. [13] General Construction also argues that the failure to afford it a hearing violated the APA. But § 919(d) merely requires that any hearings ordered by the Director be conducted in accordance with the APA. 33 U.S.C. § 919(d); see also Healy Tibbitts, 201 F.3d at 1094. If no hearing is required, no question as to whether the APA has been violated can arise. We conclude that the OWCP’s failure to order an ALJ hearing regarding Castro’s rehabilitation program prior to approval of the program did not violate the provisions of the LHWCA. B. The OWCP Did Not Violate General Construction’s Constitutional Due Process Rights General Construction claims it was entitled to a hearing before an ALJ prior to implementation of the vocational rehabilitation program, which deprived it of property by requiring 2426 GENERAL CONSTRUCTION CO. v. CASTRO payment of benefits to Castro, in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. See Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 333 (1976).17 [14] The flaw in General Construction’s argument is that the OWCP’s implementation of Castro’s rehabilitation plan did not, in itself, deprive General Construction of its property, since that implementation did not automatically trigger payment of permanent benefits to Castro. When the issue of disability compensation arose with Castro’s filing of a claim for benefits, the District Director properly forwarded the matter to the Office of Administrative Law Judges for further han- dling, and an ALJ held a full hearing on the merits of Castro’s claim for benefits. General Construction received notice and an opportunity to submit evidence and argument before the ALJ’s decision awarding compensation and before it was required to pay anything. This constituted a sufficient predeprivation hearing. See Mathews, 424 U.S. at 333 (1976) (requiring the opportunity to be heard “at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner”) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted); Cleveland Bd. of Educ. v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 532, 542 (1985) (requiring that a party have the opportunity for “some kind of a hearing” before being deprived of a significant property interest) (citation omitted). We conclude, therefore, that the OWCP’s handling of Castro’s claim for benefits did not deprive General Construction of its due process rights under the federal Constitution. 17 Specifically, General Construction argues that it “had a direct financial stake in whether the vocational plan concocted by the consultant hired by the Department of Labor went forward because, under Abbott, it was going to be liable for total disability compensation under that program.” As noted, any liability for compensation on General Construction’s part under Abbott did not arise until Castro had (1) filed a claim for benefits and (2) at a hearing, carried his burden of showing that his rehabilitation program precluded his employment. See Kee, 333 Ben. Rev. Bd. Serv. at 223 (holding that claimant has burden of showing that “suitable alternative jobs were realistically unavailable while he was in the [rehabilitation] program”). GENERAL CONSTRUCTION CO. v. CASTRO 2427