Summary
The Fourth Circuit granted Anita Baldwin’s petition for review of a Benefits Review Board decision concerning eligibility for benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act. The court held that a miner establishes a year of coal mine employment under 20 C.F.R. § 725.101(a)(32) by showing at least 125 working days in or around a coal mine during a calendar year or partial periods totaling one year, without separately proving a 365-day employment relationship. The court vacated the Board’s order and remanded for further proceedings.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether 20 C.F.R. § 725.101(a)(32) requires a coal miner to establish both a 365-day employment relationship and at least 125 working days during that period to receive credit for one year of coal mine employment under the Black Lung Benefits Act.
- Whether the ALJ improperly calculated Baldwin's partial years of coal mine employment by focusing on the length of the employment relationship rather than the number of working days spent in or around coal mines.
- Whether the Department of Labor's interpretation of § 725.101(a)(32) was entitled to deference under Kisor v. Wilkie.
Holdings
- A miner establishes one year of coal mine employment for purposes of the Black Lung Benefits Act's fifteen-year presumption by showing at least 125 working days in or around a coal mine during one calendar year or partial periods totaling one year; the miner need not also establish a 365-day employment relationship with a mine operator.
- The ALJ erred by failing to determine the number of working days Baldwin spent in or around coal mines during each calendar year or partial period totaling one year and by instead prorating partial years based on the length of the employment relationship.
- The court did not defer to the Department of Labor's contrary interpretation because § 725.101(a)(32) is unambiguous.
Key quotations
“Based on the regulatory text and context, and for all of the above reasons, we hold that § 725.101(a)(32) unambiguously allows a miner to receive credit for a year of coal mine employment if he shows that he has worked at least 125 working days within a calendar year (or partial periods totaling one year) in or around a coal mine. The regulation does not require miners to also establish a 365-day employment relationship with a mine operator.” (23-24)
“For the foregoing reasons, we grant the petition for review, vacate the Board’s decision and remand with instructions for the Board to return Petitioner’s case to the ALJ for reconsideration consistent with this opinion.” (34)
Factual background
Eddie Baldwin worked in Virginia coal mines for Island Creek Kentucky Mining from May 1976 through December 31, 1991, performing physically demanding underground mining work with substantial coal-dust exposure. He later developed breathing difficulties and filed a Black Lung Benefits Act claim in 2018. The ALJ found eleven full years and five partial years of employment but calculated the partial years by prorating days employed against a 365-day employment relationship, resulting in only 14.14 years and denial of the fifteen-year presumption.
Procedural history
Eddie Baldwin filed a claim for Black Lung Benefits Act benefits, and the District Director initially found that he had 15.39 years of coal mine employment and qualified for the statutory fifteen-year presumption. After Island Creek requested a formal hearing, the ALJ determined that Baldwin had only 14.14 years of qualifying employment because the ALJ required a year-long employment relationship and prorated partial years rather than counting working days. The ALJ denied benefits, and the Benefits Review Board affirmed. Anita Baldwin, who had been substituted as claimant after Eddie Baldwin's death, petitioned the Fourth Circuit for review.
Remand instructions
The petition for review is granted, the Benefits Review Board's decision is vacated, and the case is remanded for the Board to return it to the ALJ. The ALJ must determine, based on all evidence, the number of working days Baldwin worked in or around coal mines during each calendar year or partial period totaling one year. The ALJ must then determine whether Baldwin established fifteen years of qualifying employment under § 921(c)(4), and, if so, whether Island Creek rebutted the resulting presumption.