Sherwood T. Rodrigues v. United States Secretary of Labor, Raymond J. Donovan, Defendants

Rodrigues challenges the termination of his workers’ compensation benefits, contending that he has been deprived of due process. The district court dismissed his claim for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, on the basis that Rodrigues had failed to exhaust available administrative remedies. We reverse and remand.

I. FACTS

From January 1969 to July 1972, Sherwood Rodrigues was employed as a bank examiner with the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. In November 1972, Rodrigues filed a claim with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor (OWCP). OWCP determined that Rodrigues was totally disabled and awarded compensation for his disability from December 9, 1971.

In the fall of 1977, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) began investigating Rodrigues for tax evasion. The IRS concluded that Rodrigues had been employed as an accountant and had received earnings from 1971 through 1979. The IRS communicated this to OWCP and also referred the matter to the United States attorney, who brought criminal charges against Rodrigues for failure to file tax returns, 26 U.S.C. § 7203 (1982), and for filing false claims for disability payments with the Department of…