General Construction Company Liberty Northwest Insurance Corp. v. Robert Castro Director, Office of Workers Compensation Programs

General Construction Co. and Liberty Northwest Insurance Corp. (General Construction), with amicus Longshore Claims Association (LCA), petition for review of the determination of the Benefits Review Board (BRB) that claimant Robert Castro is entitled to total disability compensation under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 901-950 (1994) (LHWCA), during his period of participation in a vocational rehabilitation program approved by the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). General Construction also claims that the method the administrative law judge (ALJ) used to calculate Castro’s average weekly wage was incorrect and that the OWCP violated General Construction’s procedural rights under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the Due Process Clause of the federal Constitution.

We deny the petition for review. The BRB appropriately affirmed the ALJ’s award under the LHWCA, and the ALJ’s wage calculation was correct under Ninth Circuit law. The BRB also correctly concluded that the OWCP’s failure to grant General Construction a hearing before approving Castro’s rehabilitation program did not violate General Construction’s procedural or…