C.F.R. » Title 20 » CHAPTER VI—OFFICE OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION PROGRAMS, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR › SUBCHAPTER B—FEDERAL COAL MINE HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT OF 1969, AS AMENDED › PART 725—CLAIMS FOR BENEFITS UNDER PART C OF TITLE IV OF THE FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT, AS AMENDED › Subpart G—Responsible Coal Mine Operators

20 C.F.R. § 725.495

Criteria for determining a responsible operator

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(a)(1) The operator responsible for the payment of benefits in a claim adjudicated under this part (the “responsible operator”) shall be the potentially liable operator, as determined in accordance with § 725.494, that most recently employed the miner.

(2) If more than one potentially liable operator may be deemed to have employed the miner most recently, then the liability for any benefits payable as a result of such employment shall be assigned as follows:

(i) First, to the potentially liable operator that directed, controlled, or supervised the miner;

(ii) Second, to any potentially liable operator that may be considered a successor operator with respect to miners employed by the operator identified in paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section; and

(iii) Third, to any other potentially liable operator which may be deemed to have been the miner's most recent employer pursuant to § 725.493.

(3) If the operator that most recently employed the miner may not be considered a potentially liable operator, as determined in accordance with § 725.494, the responsible operator shall be the potentially liable operator that next most recently employed the miner. Any potentially liable operator that employed the miner for at least one day after December 31, 1969 may be deemed the responsible operator if no more recent employer may be considered a potentially liable operator.

(4) If the miner's most recent employment by an operator ended while the operator was authorized to self-insure its liability under part 726 of this title, and that operator no longer possesses sufficient assets to secure the payment of benefits, the provisions of paragraph (a)(3) shall be inapplicable with respect to any operator that employed the miner only before he was employed by such self-insured operator. If no operator that employed the miner after his employment with the self-insured operator meets the conditions of § 725.494, the claim of the miner or his survivor shall be the responsibility of the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.

(b) Except as provided in this section and § 725.408(a)(3), with respect to the adjudication of the identity of a responsible operator, the Director shall bear the burden of proving that the responsible operator initially found liable for the payment of benefits pursuant to § 725.410 (the “designated responsible operator”) is a potentially liable operator. It shall be presumed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that the designated responsible operator is capable of assuming liability for the payment of benefits in accordance with § 725.494(e).

(c) The designated responsible operator shall bear the burden of proving either:

(1) That it does not possess sufficient assets to secure the payment of benefits in accordance with § 725.606; or

(2) That it is not the potentially liable operator that most recently employed the miner. Such proof must include evidence that the miner was employed as a miner after he or she stopped working for the designated responsible operator and that the person by whom he or she was employed is a potentially liable operator within the meaning of § 725.494. In order to establish that a more recent employer is a potentially liable operator, the designated responsible operator must demonstrate that the more recent employer possesses sufficient assets to secure the payment of benefits in accordance with § 725.606. The designated responsible operator may satisfy its burden by presenting evidence that the owner, if the more recent employer is a sole proprietorship; the partners, if the more recent employer is a partnership; or the president, secretary, and treasurer, if the more recent employer is a corporation that failed to secure the payment of benefits pursuant to part 726 of this subchapter, possess assets sufficient to secure the payment of benefits, provided such assets may be reached in a proceeding brought under subpart I of this part.

(d) In any case referred to the Office of Administrative Law Judges pursuant to § 725.421 in which the operator finally designated as responsible pursuant to § 725.418(d) is not the operator that most recently employed the miner, the record shall contain a statement from the district director explaining the reasons for such designation. If the reasons include the most recent employer's failure to meet the conditions of § 725.494(e), the record shall also contain a statement that the Office has searched the files it maintains pursuant to part 726, and that the Office has no record of insurance coverage for that employer, or of authorization to self-insure, that meets the conditions of § 725.494(e)(1) or (e)(2). Such a statement shall be prima facie evidence that the most recent employer is not financially capable of assuming its liability for a claim. In the absence of such a statement, it shall be presumed that the most recent employer is financially capable of assuming its liability for a claim.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 28 cases (8 in the last 5 years), 2001–2026 · leading case: Westmoreland Coal Co. v. Dir., Off. of Workers' Comp. Programs, 696 F. App'x 604 (4th Cir. 2017).
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Westmoreland Coal Co. v. Dir., Off. of Workers' Comp. Programs, 696 F. App'x 604 (4th Cir. 2017). · cites it 9× “20 C.F.R. § 725.495 (a)(1); see RB&F Coal, Inc.”
RB&F Coal, Inc. v. Deloris Mullins, 842 F.3d 279 (4th Cir. 2016). · cites it 3× “” 20 C.F.R. § 725.495 (a)(1). The regulation then outlines five criteria an employer must satisfy in order to be a potentially liable operator, only one of which is relevant to this case: the operator and/or its insurer must be financially capable of assuming liability.”
Arch Coal, Inc. v. Hugler, 242 F. Supp. 3d 13 (D.D.C. 2017). · cites it 2× “2014) (citing 20 C.F.R. § 725.495 (b), (d)). The parties may then seek review of the ALJ’s decision by a panel of the Benefits Review Board.”
Apogee Coal Co. v. OWCP, 113 F.4th 751 (7th Cir. 2024). · cites it 3× “§ 932 (c); 20 C.F.R. § 725.495 (a)(1). When no such entity is capable of pay- ing, the cost of benefits falls to the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, see 26 U.”
Marfork Coal Co. v. Weis, 251 F. App'x 229 (4th Cir. 2007). · cites it 7× “After investigating the claim, the district director determines whether the claimant is eligible for benefits, and, if so, which operator is presumptively responsible.”
Arkansas Coals, Inc. v. Albert Lawson, 739 F.3d 309 (6th Cir. 2014). “by 20 C.F.R. § 725.495 (d). As previously indi *323 cated, “[s]uch a statement [is] prima facie evidence that the most recent employer is not financially capable of assuming its liability for a claim,” id.”
Frontier-Kemper Constructors, Inc. v. Dir., Off. of Workers' Comp. Programs, 876 F.3d 683 (4th Cir. 2017). “” 20 C.F.R. § 725.495 (a)(1). For an operator to be potentially liable, an operator or its successor must have employed the miner for a cumulative period of at least .”
Nat'l Mining Ass'n v. Dep't of Labor, 292 F.3d 849 (D.C. Cir. 2002). “The regulation, however, shifts the burden of proof only to the “designated responsible operator,” 20 C.F.R. § 725.495 (c); i.e., it applies only to the extent that a claimant has already carried his burden of proving that an operator is liable.”
Peabody Coal Co. v. Dir., Off. of Workers' Comp. Programs, 48 F. App'x 140 (6th Cir. 2002). “The responsible coal mine operator is the employer that would be responsible for any Part C benefits awarded to a miner.”
The Daniels Co., Inc. v. Freda Mitchell, Surviving Spouse of James Mitchell Dir., Off. of Workers' Comp. Programs, 479 F.3d 321 (4th Cir. 2007). “” 20 C.F.R. § 725.495 (c)(2)(2006). 6 . “[T]he miner's disability or death must have arisen, at least in part, out of his employment with that operator; the operator must have operated a coal mine or other facility for any period after June 30, 1973; the miner must have worked…”
Nat'l Mining Ass'n v. Chao, 160 F. Supp. 2d 47 (D.D.C. 2001). “20 C.F.R. § 725.495 : This rule describes the criteria for defining a responsible operator as the miner’s most recent employer(s) (per § 725.”
Island Fork Constr. v. Jimmy Bowling, 872 F.3d 754 (6th Cir. 2017). “20 C.F.R. § 725.495 (a)(3). But once the claim reaches the ALJ stage, there is no mechanism to designate a different responsible operator.”
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