TITLE 33 > CHAPTER 18 > § 921

 
                NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS
 
         CHAPTER 18--LONGSHORE AND HARBOR WORKERS' COMPENSATION
 
Sec. 921. Review of compensation orders


(a) Effectiveness and finality of orders

    A compensation order shall become effective when filed in the office 
of the deputy commissioner as provided in section 919 of this title, 
and, unless proceedings for the suspension or setting aside of such 
order are instituted as provided in subsection (b) of this section, 
shall become final at the expiration of the thirtieth day thereafter.

(b) Benefits Review Board; establishment; members; chairman; quorum; 
        voting; questions reviewable; record; conclusiveness of 
        findings; stay of payments; remand

    (1) There is hereby established a Benefits Review Board which shall 
be composed of five members appointed by the Secretary from among 
individuals who are especially qualified to serve on such Board. The 
Secretary shall designate one of the members of the Board to serve as 
chairman. The Chairman shall have the authority, as delegated by the 
Secretary, to exercise all administrative functions necessary to operate 
the Board.
    (2) For the purpose of carrying out its functions under this 
chapter, three members of the Board shall constitute a quorum and 
official action can be taken only on the affirmative vote of at least 
three members.
    (3) The Board shall be authorized to hear and determine appeals 
raising a substantial question of law or fact taken by any party in 
interest from decisions with respect to claims of employees under this 
chapter and the extensions thereof. The Board's orders shall be based 
upon the hearing record. The findings of fact in the decision under 
review by the Board shall be conclusive if supported by substantial 
evidence in the record considered as a whole. The payment of the amounts 
required by an award shall not be stayed pending final decision in any 
such proceeding unless ordered by the Board. No stay shall be issued 
unless irreparable injury would otherwise ensue to the employer or 
carrier.
    (4) The Board may, on its own motion or at the request of the 
Secretary, remand a case to the administrative law judge for further 
appropriate action. The consent of the parties in interest shall not be 
a prerequisite to a remand by the Board.
    (5) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) through (4), upon application of 
the Chairman of the Board, the Secretary may designate up to four 
Department of Labor administrative law judges to serve on the Board 
temporarily, for not more than one year. The Board is authorized to 
delegate to panels of three members any or all of the powers which the 
Board may exercise. Each such panel shall have no more than one 
temporary member. Two members shall constitute a quorum of a panel. 
Official adjudicative action may be taken only on the affirmative vote 
of at least two members of a panel. Any party aggrieved by a decision of 
a panel of the Board may, within thirty days after the date of entry of 
the decision, petition the entire permanent Board for review of the 
panel's decision. Upon affirmative vote of the majority of the permanent 
members of the Board, the petition shall be granted. The Board shall 
amend its Rules of Practice to conform with this paragraph. Temporary 
members, while serving as members of the Board, shall be compensated at 
the same rate of compensation as regular members.

(c) Court of appeals; jurisdiction; persons entitled to review; 
        petition; record; determination and enforcement; service of 
        process; stay of payments

    Any person adversely affected or aggrieved by a final order of the 
Board may obtain a review of that order in the United States court of 
appeals for the circuit in which the injury occurred, by filing in such 
court within sixty days following the issuance of such Board order a 
written petition praying that the order be modified or set aside. A copy 
of such petition shall be forthwith transmitted by the clerk of the 
court, to the Board, and to the other parties, and thereupon the Board 
shall file in the court the record in the proceedings as provided in 
section 2112 of title 28. Upon such filing, the court shall have 
jurisdiction of the proceeding and shall have the power to give a decree 
affirming, modifying, or setting aside, in whole or in part, the order 
of the Board and enforcing same to the extent that such order is 
affirmed or modified. The orders, writs, and processes of the court in 
such proceedings may run, be served, and be returnable anywhere in the 
United States. The payment of the amounts required by an award shall not 
be stayed pending final decision in any such proceeding unless ordered 
by the court. No stay shall be issued unless irreparable injury would 
otherwise ensue to the employer or carrier. The order of the court 
allowing any stay shall contain a specific finding, based upon evidence 
submitted to the court and identified by reference thereto, that 
irreparable damage would result to the employer, and specifying the 
nature of the damage.

(d) District court; jurisdiction; enforcement of orders; application of 
        beneficiaries of awards or deputy commissioner; process for 
        compliance with orders

    If any employer or his officers or agents fails to comply with a 
compensation order making an award, that has become final, any 
beneficiary of such award or the deputy commissioner making the order, 
may apply for the enforcement of the order to the Federal district court 
for the judicial district in which the injury occurred (or to the United 
States District Court for the District of Columbia if the injury 
occurred in the District). If the court determines that the order was 
made and served in accordance with law, and that such employer or his 
officers or agents have failed to comply therewith, the court shall 
enforce obedience to the order by writ of injunction or by other proper 
process, mandatory or otherwise, to enjoin upon such person and his 
officers and agents compliance with the order.

(e) Institution of proceedings for suspension, setting aside, or 
        enforcement of compensation orders

    Proceedings for suspending, setting aside, or enforcing a 
compensation order, whether rejecting a claim or making an award, shall 
not be instituted otherwise than as provided in this section and section 
918 of this title.

(Mar. 4, 1927, ch. 509, Sec. 21, 44 Stat. 1436; June 25, 1936, ch. 804, 
49 Stat. 1921; June 25, 1948, ch. 646, Sec. 32(b), 62 Stat. 991; May 24, 
1949, ch. 139, Sec. 127, 63 Stat. 107; Pub. L. 92-576, Sec. 15(a), (b), 
Oct. 27, 1972, 86 Stat. 1261, 1262; Pub. L. 95-251, Sec. 2(a)(10), Mar. 
27, 1978, 92 Stat. 183; Pub. L. 98-426, Sec. 15, Sept. 28, 1984, 98 
Stat. 1649.)

                          Codification

    As originally enacted, subsec. (d) contained a reference to the 
Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. Act June 25, 1936, 
substituted ``the district court of the United States for the District 
of Columbia'' for ``the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia'', and 
act June 25, 1948, as amended by act May 24, 1949, substituted ``United 
States District Court for the District of Columbia'' for ``district 
court of the United States for the District of Columbia''.


                               Amendments

    1984--Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 98-426, Sec. 15(1), (2), substituted 
``five'' for ``three'', and inserted ``The Chairman shall have the 
authority, as delegated by the Secretary, to exercise all administrative 
functions necessary to operate the Board.''
    Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 98-426, Sec. 15(3), substituted ``three'' 
for ``two'' wherever appearing.
    Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 98-426, Sec. 15(4), added par. (5).
    1978--Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 95-251 substituted ``administrative 
law judge'' for ``hearing examiner''.
    1972--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 92-576, Sec. 15(a), added subsec. (b). 
Former provisions of subsec. (b) for injunction proceedings to suspend 
or set aside a compensation order by a party in interest against a 
deputy commissioner in Federal district court for judicial district 
where injury occurred superseded by subsec. (c) of this section and 
former provisions of such subsec. (b) respecting service of process and 
stay of payments, except for the procedural requirement of an 
interlocutory injunction to the court and hearing on at least three 
days' notice to the parties in interest and the deputy commissioner, 
incorporated in subsec. (c) of this section.
    Subsecs. (c) to (e). Pub. L. 92-576, Sec. 15(a), (b), added subsec. 
(c) and redesignated former subsecs. (c) and (d) as (d) and (e), 
respectively.


                    Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 98-426 effective Sept. 28, 1984, see section 
28(e)(1) of Pub. L. 98-426, set out as a note under section 901 of this 
title.


                    Effective Date of 1972 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 92-576 effective 30 days after Oct. 27, 1972, 
see section 22 of Pub. L. 92-576, set out as a note under section 902 of 
this title.


   Review of Decisions Made by or Pending Before Benefits Review Board

    Pub. L. 108-447, div. F, title I, Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 3121, 
provided in part: ``That no funds made available by this Act [div. F of 
Pub. L. 108-447, see Tables for classification] may be used by the 
Solicitor of Labor to participate in a review in any United States court 
of appeals of any decision made by the Benefits Review Board under 
section 21 of the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (33 
U.S.C. 921) where such participation is precluded by the decision of the 
United States Supreme Court in Director, Office of Workers' Compensation 
Programs v. Newport News Shipbuilding, 115 S. Ct. 1278 (1995), 
notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary contained in Rule 15 of 
the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure [28 U.S.C. App.]: Provided 
further, That no funds made available by this Act may be used by the 
Secretary of Labor to review a decision under the Longshore and Harbor 
Workers' Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) that has been appealed 
and that has been pending before the Benefits Review Board for more than 
12 months: Provided further, That any such decision pending a review by 
the Benefits Review Board for more than 1 year shall be considered 
affirmed by the Benefits Review Board on the 1-year anniversary of the 
filing of the appeal, and shall be considered the final order of the 
Board for purposes of obtaining a review in the United States courts of 
appeals: Provided further, That these provisions shall not be applicable 
to the review or appeal of any decision issued under the Black Lung 
Benefits Act (30 U.S.C. 901 et seq.).''
    Similar provisions were contained in the following prior 
appropriation acts:
    Pub. L. 108-199, div. E, title I, Jan. 23, 2004, 118 Stat. 234.
    Pub. L. 108-7, div. G, title I, Feb. 20, 2003, 117 Stat. 306.
    Pub. L. 107-116, title I, Jan. 10, 2002, 115 Stat. 2184.
    Pub. L. 106-554, Sec. 1(a)(1) [title I], Dec. 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 
2763, 2763A-10.
    Pub. L. 106-113, div. B, Sec. 1000(a)(4) [title I], Nov. 29, 1999, 
113 Stat. 1535, 1501A-224.
    Pub. L. 105-277, div. A, Sec. 101(f) [title I], Oct. 21, 1998, 105 
Stat. 2681-337, 2681-345.
    Pub. L. 105-78, title I, Nov. 13, 1997, 111 Stat. 1475.
    Pub. L. 104-208, div. A, title I, Sec. 101(e) [title I], Sept. 30, 
1996, 110 Stat. 3009-233, 3009-241.
    Pub. L. 104-134, title I, Sec. 101(d) [title I], Apr. 26, 1996, 110 
Stat. 1321-211, 1321-218; renumbered title I, Pub. L. 104-140, 
Sec. 1(a), May 2, 1996, 110 Stat. 1327.