5 U.S.C. § 8128
Section 8128 · Review of award
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 258 court decisions — leading case Southwest Marine, Inc. v. Gizoni (1991)
Most recently applied in David Bourke v. United States (February 2022)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 5 U.S.C. § 8116 · 5 U.S.C. § 8101 · 5 U.S.C. § 8102
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) The Secretary of Labor may review an award for or against payment of compensation at any time on his own motion or on application. The Secretary, in accordance with the facts found on review, may—
(1) end, decrease, or increase the compensation previously awarded; or
(2) award compensation previously refused or discontinued.
(b) The action of the Secretary or his designee in allowing or denying a payment under this subchapter is—
(1) final and conclusive for all purposes and with respect to all questions of law and fact; and
(2) not subject to review by another official of the United States or by a court by mandamus or otherwise.
Credit shall be allowed in the accounts of a certifying or disbursing official for payment in accordance with that action.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
In subsection (a), the words “If the original claim for compensation has been made within the time specified in section 770 of this title” are omitted as surplusage. The words “an award for or against payment of compensation” are coextensive with and, for clarity and consistency with section 8124, substituted for “the award”. The second sentence of former section 787 is omitted as included in the penultimate sentence of former section 793, which is carried into subsection (b). The last sentence of former section 787 is omitted as executed.
In subsection (b), the word “official” is substituted for “officer” because of the definition of “officer” in section 2104 which excludes a member of a uniformed service.
Administration of this subchapter was transferred to the Secretary of Labor by section 1 of 1950 Reorg. Plan No. 19, 64 Stat. 1271 (see section 8145).
Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface of the report.
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Writ of mandamus abolished in United States district courts, but relief available by appropriate action or motion, see rule 81, Title 28, Appendix, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.