Cite as: 505 U. S. 469 (1992)
Opinion of the Court
made payments or acknowledged entitlement to benefits under this chapter." 33 U. S. C. § 933(g).
The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) rejected Nicklos' argument on the basis of prior interpretations of § 33(g) by the Benefits Review Board (Board or BRB). In the first of those decisions, O'Leary v. Southeast Stevedoring Co., 7 BRBS 144 (1977), aff'd mem., 622 F. 2d 595 (CA9 1980), the Board held that in an earlier version of § 33(g) the words "person entitled to compensation" referred only to injured employees whose employers were making compensation payments, whether voluntary or pursuant to an award. The O'Leary decision held that a person not yet receiving benefits was not a "person entitled to compensation," even though the person had a valid claim for benefits.
The statute was amended to its present form, the form we have quoted, in 1984. In that year Congress redesignated then subsection (g) to what is now (g)(1) and modified its language somewhat, but did not change the phrase "person entitled to compensation." Congress also added the current subsection (g)(2), as well as other provisions. Following the 1984 amendments the Board decided Dorsey v. Cooper Stevedoring Co., 18 BRBS 25 (1986), app. dism'd, 826 F. 2d 1011 (CA11 1987). The Board reaffirmed its interpretation in O'Leary of the phrase "person entitled to compensation," saying that because the 1984 amendments had not changed the specific language, Congress was presumed to have adopted the Board's previous interpretation. It noted that nothing in the 1984 legislative history disclosed an intent to overrule the Board's interpretations. The Board decided that the forfeiture provisions of subsection (g)(2), including the final phrase providing that forfeiture occurs "regardless of whether the employer . . . has made payments or acknowledged entitlement to benefits," was a "separate provisio[n] applicable to separate situations." 18 BRBS, at 29.
The ALJ in this case held that under the reasoning of O'Leary and Dorsey, Cowart was not a person entitled to
473
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