United States Department of Labor

Notice of Appeal Rights

A Decision of the Benefits Review Board shall become final sixty (60) days after its issuance unless a written petition for review is filed with the appropriate United States Court of Appeals prior to the expiration of the sixty (60) day period, or unless a timely request for reconsideration is filed with the Board. 33 U.S.C. Section 921; 30 U.S.C. Section 932(a); 20 C.F.R. Sections 802.406, 802.407. Therefore, you are advised that you may SEEK RECONSIDERATION OF, OR APPEAL, a final decision of the Board within the time limits set forth below. THE TIME LIMITS CANNOT BE EXTENDED, AND YOU MUST SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST TO THE PROPER PLACE WITHIN THE TIME PROVIDED.

If you seek RECONSIDERATION by this Board (that is, if you want the Board to reconsider its decision), you must submit to the Board a written Motion for Reconsideration within 30 DAYS OF THE DATE STAMPED ON THE FRONT OF THIS DECISION. Your motion should identify any error you find in the Board's opinion and state the reasons you believe warrant further consideration of your case. If you file a timely motion for reconsideration, you will have sixty (60) days from issuance of the Board's decision on reconsideration to file an appeal with a Court of Appeals, as set forth below.

Alternatively, if you wish to APPEAL to a United States Court of Appeals, you must insure that a petition for review is received by THE APPROPRIATE COURT (NOT THIS BOARD) WITHIN SIXTY (60) DAYS OF THE DATE STAMPED ON THE FRONT OF THIS DECISION. The petition for review should contain the case number and the date of the Board's decision. The petition should be sent to the Court of Appeals that covers the state in which the employee's injury occurred. In a black lung claim, any state in which the miner had coal mine employment may be considered the state in which the injury occurred (i.e., for a black lung appeal, you may file in any Court of Appeals covering any state in which you worked as a miner). Listed below are the twelve Courts of Appeals and the states they cover. You should identify the court covering the state of injury (including all states of coal mine employment for black lung claims) and file your petition with that court. If you have questions about your case, call the clerk of the court at the number shown below. If you appeal directly to the Court of Appeals, you may not later get reconsideration by the Board. However, if you seek Board reconsideration, you may later appeal the Board's ruling on reconsideration to the Court of Appeals.

In Defense Base Act cases, The United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eleventh Circuits have held that Board decisions must initially be appealed to the United States District Court where the office of the appropriate district director is located.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED IN YOUR CASE, CALL THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE BOARD, (202) 693-6300.

COURTS OF APPEALS