## Facts

- The Department of Labor used a “true doubt” rule in benefits adjudications: when the evidence is evenly balanced, the claimant prevails.
- In a Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA) claim, a coal miner sought benefits for pneumoconiosis after decades of coal mine employment.
- The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) found the evidence on disease and total disability equally probative and awarded benefits by applying the true doubt rule; the Benefits Review Board affirmed.
- In a Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) claim, a longshore worker suffered a work injury, was later diagnosed with cancer, and died; his widow sought disability and death benefits.
- The ALJ found the evidence equally probative and awarded benefits under the true doubt rule; the Benefits Review Board affirmed.
- The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit set aside the awards, holding the true doubt rule unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the governing benefits statutes that incorporate the APA.
- The Supreme Court granted review and considered both matters together.

## Issues

1. Whether APA § 7(c) applies to BLBA and LHWCA adjudications and governs the allocation of the “burden of proof.”
2. Whether “burden of proof” in APA § 7(c) means the burden of persuasion (rather than only the burden of production).
3. Whether the Department of Labor’s true doubt rule unlawfully shifts the burden of persuasion by awarding benefits when evidence is in equipoise.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court affirmed the Third Circuit.
- APA § 7(c) applies to adjudications under the BLBA and LHWCA because both incorporate the APA.
- In APA § 7(c), “burden of proof” means the burden of persuasion.
- The true doubt rule conflicts with APA § 7(c) because it awards the claim when the evidence is evenly balanced, effectively shifting the burden of persuasion to the opposing party.
- Absent clear statutory authorization to depart from APA § 7(c), a claimant with the burden of persuasion loses when the evidence is in equipoise.

## Legal Principles

- In APA-governed adjudications, § 7(c) assigns the burden of persuasion to the “proponent of a rule or order.”
- “Burden of proof” in APA § 7(c) refers to the burden of persuasion, not merely the obligation to produce evidence.
- When the evidence is evenly balanced, the party bearing the burden of persuasion must lose.
- An agency may not adopt a tie-breaking rule that reallocates the burden of persuasion in the absence of clear statutory direction overriding the APA’s default rule.

## Conclusion

The Court held that APA § 7(c) governs BLBA and LHWCA proceedings and requires the proponent to carry the burden of persuasion; because the true doubt rule lets claimants win on equipoise, it is invalid, and benefits cannot be awarded on a tie in the evidence.


Dir., Off. of Workers’ Comp. Programs v. Greenwich Collieries, 512 U.S. 267 (1994)