Robert Neese v. Joseph A. Califano, Jr., Secretary of Health, Education & Welfare

Robert Neese appeals a judgment sustaining the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare’s denial of his claim for black lung benefits under the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 as amended in 1972, 30 U.S.C. §§ 921(a), 922(a)(1). Neese contends that he was a coal miner within the meaning of 20 C.F.R. § 410.110(j) during the eleven years that he worked as a contract coal hauler for Pace Pocahontas Coal Company, thus entitling him to the presumption that his respiratory impairment arose from employment in the mines. See 30 U.S.C. § 921(c); 20 C.F.R. § 410.416.

We conclude,…