Federal Agency Decisions
Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB), each with a plain-English summary, the law it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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D.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Bruce W. Carter VA Medical Center, Miami, FL
Board upholds denial of VA worker's continuation of pay (ECAB 23-0017)
A VA employee claimed COVID-19 exposure at work and sought continuation of pay for time away. She reported a June 22, 2022 injury date but filed written notice on August 9, more than 30 days later. Under the applicable FECA rule, that late notice did not qualify for continuation of pay. The Board…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Manager Columbus Processing & Distribution Center, Columbus, OH
Board upholds postal worker's ten percent impairment ratings (ECAB 22-1299)
A postal worker sought a larger schedule award for impairment involving carpal and cubital tunnel conditions in both arms. His physician rated each arm at 13 percent by adding separate nerve impairment ratings. OWCP's medical adviser applied the impairment guide's rule that the second simultaneous…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Riverdale Post Office, Riverdale, IL
Board orders postal worker's related foot claims combined (ECAB 22-1243)
A postal letter carrier sought compensation for several hours away from work while using a walking boot for an accepted left foot injury. He also had an earlier accepted claim involving the same foot and a fifth metatarsal fracture. OWCP had not combined the two files before denying the disability…
C.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
Board upholds postal worker's 50 percent leg impairment rating (ECAB 22-0261)
A postal worker sought an increase over his existing right leg schedule award. One physician rated impairment at 54 percent but did not apply the guide's required grade modifiers and adjustment formula. OWCP's medical adviser applied those steps and calculated 50 percent impairment. The Board…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri
AFGE Local 2338 and Poplar Bluff VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-5843): Authority upholds denial of accommodation-request names
AFGE Local 2338 asked the medical center for a list of employees who had requested reasonable accommodations so it could assess processing delays. The agency denied the request because revealing the names without employee consent would violate the Privacy Act, the agreement, and a VA…
Secretary of Labor v. Wayne J. Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Mail-processing uncertainty supported reopening
Wayne J. Sand & Gravel said it never received a proposed assessment at its remote operation. Postal tracking showed that the package was held for pickup, returned to its origin, and later recorded as delivered without a signature, leaving the cause of nonreceipt unclear. After receiving a…
Secretary of Labor v. Hanson Aggregates Pennsylvania, LLC
Staff disruptions excused one-day delay
Hanson Aggregates filed its proposed-assessment contest one day late while several senior roles were changing or temporarily uncovered. The operations manager had transferred, a new safety manager was being hired, and the plant manager was temporarily absent. The assessment was briefly overlooked…
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt, Inc.
P.O. Box receipt-date mistake excused one-day delay
Morton Salt calculated its contest deadline from the date an assessment reached the mine site instead of the earlier date it reached the company's P.O. Box. It mailed the contest one day after the assessment became a final Commission order. The operator moved promptly to reopen and said it would…
Secretary of Labor v. GCC Permian
Contest sent to wrong MSHA office was reopened
GCC Permian said it timely mailed a notice of contest, but its safety manager did not verify the address. The contest was accidentally sent to MSHA's penalty collections office in St. Louis together with payment for the uncontested citations. The assessment therefore became a final Commission order…
T.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Indianapolis Post Office, Indianapolis, IN
Board upholds abandoned oral hearing finding (ECAB 23-0202)
A city letter carrier requested an oral hearing after OWCP denied her occupational disease claim. OWCP scheduled a telephone hearing and mailed notice to her last known address. She did not attend, request a postponement, or explain her absence within 10 days. The Board affirmed the finding that…
S.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Palm Springs, CA
Board upholds denial of additional shoulder and neck conditions (ECAB 23-0152)
A transportation security officer sought to add right shoulder osteoarthritis and cervical radiculopathy to an accepted claim after a work fall. Her physician described the conditions and recommended additional testing, but did not provide a sufficiently definite, reasoned link to the employment…
M.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Bernville Post Office, Bernville, PA
Board orders related postal injury files combined for review (ECAB 23-0029)
A rural carrier filed a recurrence claim for worsening right shoulder and neck pain, but OWCP treated it as a new occupational disease claim in a separate file. The two files concerned the same right shoulder condition. The Board found that they should be combined so the issues could be adjudicated…
J.H. and Department of the Air Force, Texas Air National Guard, Houston, TX
Board upholds FECA and Social Security overpayment recovery (ECAB 22-1375)
An aircraft mechanic received FECA wage loss compensation while also receiving the portion of Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service. OWCP calculated a $38,895.43 overpayment for July 2016 through February 2021 and found that he was without fault. The Board held that…
E.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
Board recognizes postal worker injury incident and returns causation issue (ECAB 22-1339)
A postal mail handler assistant reported that a forklift pushed a box into her abdomen at work. She later required surgery for internal bleeding, but OWCP denied the claim after questioning whether the work event caused her condition. The Board found that the workplace incident was established and…
R.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, John Cochran VA Hospital, St. Louis, MO
Board returns lumbar surgery authorization issue for medical clarification (ECAB 22-1236)
A VA supply technician with accepted cervical and lumbar conditions sought authorization for lumbar spine surgery. OWCP relied on opinions that did not adequately explain whether the requested surgery was medically necessary because of the accepted injury. The Board found both opinions conclusory…
L.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Fairfield Post Office, Fairfield, CA
Board reverses termination of postal carrier's wage loss compensation (ECAB 22-1116)
A postal mail carrier with accepted lower back and pelvis conditions stopped receiving wage loss compensation after refusing a temporary full time limited duty assignment. OWCP relied on a second opinion physician who found that she could perform the assignment, while her treating physician imposed…
David A. Rose Farm & Ag Services et al v. Secretary of Labor
David A. Rose Farm & Ag Services et al. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2023-0159): Expedition denied and contests consolidated
David A. Rose Farm & Ag Services and Garcia Mining contested one miner-training order and six citations issued during work they described as river widening and dredging outside MSHA jurisdiction. They requested an expedited hearing based on financial costs, disruption, continuing inspections, and…
Regina Richardson (on behalf of Donald G. Richardson) v. C & R Coal, Incorporated #3 and Old Republic Insurance Company
Richardson v. C & R Coal (BRB 22-0035 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Regina Richardson pursued her late husband's black lung claim after he died while it was pending. The administrative law judge found that Donald Richardson's disabling lung disease was substantially related to coal mine dust exposure and awarded benefits without relying on the fifteen-year…
Thorstenson v. BNSF Railway Co.
FRSA case remanded for damages
Stephen Thorstenson alleged that BNSF disciplined him for reporting a workplace injury. After two rounds of Board and Ninth Circuit review, the court held that substantial evidence did not support BNSF's same-action defense and that the company's reporting rule made compliance virtually impossible…
J.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pasco, WA
Board upholds denial of postal carrier injury claim (ECAB 23-0039)
A mail carrier said his postal truck was rear-ended and that he injured his left wrist and lower back. A chiropractor diagnosed several conditions, but the record did not show an x-ray supported spinal subluxation, the circumstance in which a chiropractor qualifies as a physician under FECA. The…
A.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, Battle Creek, MI
Board dismisses appeal because related issue was already pending (ECAB 22-1336)
A VA worker appealed an OWCP decision finding forfeiture of compensation. The same forfeiture issue was already pending before the Board in another docket when OWCP issued the later decision. The Board treated that later decision as null and void and dismissed the appeal. It did not decide the…
P.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, Weslaco, TX
Board upholds Social Security offset overpayment recovery (ECAB 22-1268)
A supervisory border patrol agent received FECA wage loss compensation while also receiving the federal service portion of Social Security retirement benefits. OWCP calculated a $36,817.95 overpayment for September 2019 through December 2021 and found that P.S. was without fault. The Board upheld…
A.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Anaheim Processing & Distribution Center, Anaheim, CA
Board upholds denial of recurrence and disability claims (ECAB 22-1264)
A postal clerk with accepted left knee conditions sought compensation for a recurrence of total disability beginning October 24, 2018 and for disability on June 8 and 9, 2019. The Board reviewed the medical and work evidence for both periods. It found that A.D. had not met the burden to connect…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Kilmer Carrier Annex, Edison, NJ
Board orders impartial medical review of lumbar claim (ECAB 22-0664)
A postal carrier technician sought to add lumbar conditions to an accepted back injury and claimed a recurrence of total disability. Treating physicians connected the conditions to the work injury, while OWCP referral physicians disagreed. The Board found a conflict in the medical evidence and held…
P.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Cincinnati Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
Board upholds denial of six hours of disability compensation (ECAB 22-0635)
A postal custodial laborer had an accepted back injury and sought compensation for six hours of disability on December 22, 2020. OWCP had already paid compensation for other periods but denied those six hours. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish that the claimed period of…
V.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Spokane Washington Processing & Distribution Center
Board upholds abandoned oral hearing finding (ECAB 21-0499)
A postal mail processing clerk filed an occupational disease claim for rheumatoid arthritis in her right wrist and requested an oral hearing after OWCP denied the claim. OWCP mailed notice of a telephone hearing, but she did not attend or explain her absence within 10 days. The Board affirmed the…
Astor Fields, Jr. v. Sapphire Coal Company and Brickstreet Mutual Insurance
Fields v. Sapphire Coal (BRB 22-0397 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Astor Fields sought black lung benefits after at least fifteen years of qualifying coal mine work. Sapphire Coal argued that his claim was filed too late because a doctor had discussed disability and pneumoconiosis with him years earlier. The Board upheld the administrative law judge's finding that…
J.B. Napier v. BIC Coal Company, Incorporated and Old Republic Insurance Company
Napier v. BIC Coal (BRB 22-0225 BLA): disability evidence sent back for review
J.B. Napier appealed the denial of his black lung benefits claim without a lawyer. The parties had agreed to twelve years of coal mine work, so the fifteen-year presumption did not apply. The administrative law judge found no total disability after rejecting a qualifying breathing test and…
Coy L. Mullins v. Consolidation Coal Company
Mullins v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 22-0079 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Coy Mullins sought black lung benefits after at least fifteen years of underground coal mine work. Although his breathing tests did not independently establish total disability, the administrative law judge credited medical opinions explaining that his respiratory impairment prevented his usual…
G.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Coos Bay Post Office, Coos Bay, OR
Board upholds denial of rural carrier shoulder claim (ECAB 23-0114)
A rural carrier associate reported right shoulder and upper arm injuries while delivering mail. A physician diagnosed shoulder conditions but did not provide an independent, reasoned opinion connecting them to the work incident. Reports from nurses and nurse practitioners and diagnostic studies…
M.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY
Board upholds denial of VA nursing assistant injury claim (ECAB 22-1303)
A VA nursing assistant reported that she slipped on a greasy floor at work. The medical records included diagnoses and work restrictions, but they did not provide a reasoned opinion connecting the diagnosed conditions to the fall. The Board also found that reports from nonphysician providers and…
I.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Milwaukee Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
Board orders related left foot claim files combined (ECAB 22-1127)
A postal distributor sought compensation for disability after a left foot injury. The record also contained earlier work injuries involving the same left lower extremity. The Board found that the related claim files should be combined so OWCP could consider the complete record. It returned the case…
H.S. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, California Service Center, Laguna Niguel, CA
Board upholds $91,093.21 Social Security offset overpayment (ECAB 22-1040)
A federal service assistant received FECA wage loss compensation while also receiving the federal service portion of Social Security retirement benefits. OWCP calculated a $91,093.21 overpayment for June 1, 2013 through July 17, 2021 and found that she was without fault. The Board affirmed the…
L.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Eugene J. Towbin VA Healthcare Center, North Little Rock, AR
Board recognizes VA nurse assault incident and remands injury claim (ECAB 21-1100)
A VA nurse reported that a patient grabbed her and pulled her onto him while she was working. The Board found that the incident occurred in the performance of duty based on her consistent account, workplace records, and related reports. It returned the case to OWCP to consider the medical evidence…
P.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Islandia, NY
Board upholds Social Security offset overpayment recovery (ECAB 21-0859)
A postal worker received FECA wage loss compensation while also receiving the federal service portion of Social Security retirement benefits. OWCP calculated a $3,141.14 overpayment for March 1 through November 7, 2020 and found that he was without fault. The Board affirmed the overpayment, waiver…
C.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Merrifield, VA
Board upholds Social Security offset overpayment finding (ECAB 21-0481)
A postal employee received FECA wage loss compensation while also receiving the federal service portion of Social Security retirement benefits. OWCP calculated a $10,660.75 overpayment for July 7, 2018 through July 5, 2019 and found that she was without fault. The Board affirmed the overpayment and…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Mining Company, LLC
Partial settlement denied and authorities stricken
The Secretary sought approval of a partial settlement that removed S&S designations and cited Mechanicsville Concrete and American Aggregates of Michigan as supporting authority. Judge Young concluded that those decisions did not support the proposition for which they were repeatedly cited and that…
Willa G. Huff (on behalf of Lloyd Huff) v. D M & M Coal Company, Incorporated and Old Republic Insurance Company
Huff v. D M & M Coal (BRB 21-0531 BLA): employer restored as responsible operator
Willa Huff pursued her late husband's black lung claim after the Board had affirmed his benefits award but sent the case back to identify who must pay. The administrative law judge treated a later employer, DBH Coal, as a successor to D M & M Coal and shifted liability to the Black Lung Disability…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Englewood Station Post Office, Chicago, IL
Board dismisses appeal from void OWCP decision (ECAB 23-0254)
A postal letter carrier appealed an OWCP decision involving a recurrence of bilateral hand and wrist conditions. The Board found that OWCP lacked jurisdiction to issue the later decision while the same issue was on appeal. It treated the later decision as null and void and dismissed the appeal…
T.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Vincennes Road Post Office, Indianapolis, IN
Board recognizes postal workplace events and remands injury claim (ECAB 22-1365)
A postal sales and service associate reported back and leg injuries after tripping on a pallet jack and pushing a container with a broken wheel. The employing establishment acknowledged that the events occurred in the performance of duty. The Board found the events established and returned the…
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Lake Otis Station Post Office, Anchorage, AK
Board upholds denial of postal wrist injury claim (ECAB 22-1250)
A city delivery specialist reported right wrist pain while sorting mail. The Board considered the medical history and found that the evidence did not establish a condition caused by the October 22, 2020 employment incident. It affirmed OWCP’s denial after the earlier remand had been addressed.
R.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dalton, GA
Board upholds benefit termination and abandoned hearing finding (ECAB 22-1175)
A rural carrier received wage loss compensation and medical benefits after a vehicle collision at work. OWCP terminated those benefits after a second opinion physician found that the accepted conditions had resolved, and R.L. did not attend the scheduled telephone hearing or explain his absence…
Y.S. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Federal Corrections Complex, Yazoo City, MS
Board upholds denial of pepper spray injury claim (ECAB 22-1142)
A special education teacher reported shortness of breath, chest tightness, and an asthma exacerbation after pepper spray was deployed near her at work. The medical records included diagnoses and work restrictions, but they did not establish a diagnosed condition through competent, reasoned medical…
D.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Gulf Coast Veterans’ Health Care System, Biloxi, MS
Board recognizes overwork factor and remands emotional condition claim (ECAB 22-0654)
A VA program management assistant claimed an emotional condition caused by workplace hostility, pressure, and overwork. The Board found that she established overwork as a compensable employment factor but did not establish the other alleged employment factors. It returned the claim for evaluation…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3601 and United States Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health Service, Claremore Indian Hospital
AFGE Local 3601 and Claremore Indian Hospital (FLRA 0-AR-5838): Authority upholds end of COVID-19 pay differentials
Claremore Indian Hospital initially paid hazard and environmental differentials to on-site employees working around COVID-19 patients. It later ended the differentials after implementing precautions and finding that workplace risks had fallen below a significant level. An arbitrator upheld that…
Secretary of Labor v. Twin State Mining, Inc.
Roof-bolter cable settlement approved
MSHA found two damaged places in a roof bolter's power cable, including one where bare inner wires were exposed, and noted that the mine had been cited under the same standard 26 times in two years. Twin State admitted the violation but asserted that the cable had been adequately taped until the…
City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire
In re City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 22-02): petition withdrawn and appeal dismissed
The City of Portsmouth withdrew its petition for review of an NPDES permit on May 5, 2023. The City stated that the parties had reached an agreement to resolve their dispute, and EPA Region 1 had withdrawn certain permit provisions and published a proposal for public comment regarding their…
Reba Lynn Smith, on behalf of and widow of Jerry L. White v. Eastern Associated Coal Company and Peabody Energy Corporation
Smith v. Eastern Associated Coal (BRB 22-0269 and 22-0270): benefits affirmed, employer held liable
Reba Lynn Smith pursued the late Jerry White's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. An administrative law judge awarded both claims but shifted payment to the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund because White later worked as a security guard for another company. The Board held that his…
Reba Lynn Smith, on behalf of and widow of Jerry L. White v. Eastern Associated Coal Company and Peabody Energy Corporation
Smith v. Eastern Associated Coal (BRB 22-0269 and 22-0270): benefits affirmed, employer held liable
Reba Lynn Smith pursued the late Jerry White's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. An administrative law judge awarded both claims but shifted payment to the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund because White later worked as a security guard for another company. The Board held that his…
Kenneth R. Thompson v. Laurel Run Reclamation Company and Rockwood Casualty Insurance Company
Thompson v. Laurel Run Reclamation (BRB 22-0143 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Kenneth Thompson's daughter pursued his black lung claim after he died while it was pending. On remand, the administrative law judge awarded benefits based on a doctor's opinion that Thompson's disabling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was caused in part by coal mine dust exposure. Laurel Run…
Lahoma Steele (on behalf of Jody A. Steele) v. Jesse Creek Mining, LLC
Steele v. Jesse Creek Mining (BRB 22-0131 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Lahoma Steele pursued her late husband's black lung claim after he died while it was pending. The administrative law judge found that Jody Steele had at least fifteen years at underground coal mines and a totally disabling respiratory impairment, and awarded benefits under the fifteen-year…
Donnie D. Newsome v. D M & M Coal Company, Incorporated and Old Republic Insurance Company
Newsome v. D M & M Coal (BRB 22-0029 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Donnie Newsome sought black lung benefits after 17.44 years of underground coal mine work. D M & M Coal disputed its responsibility for the claim, the length of Newsome's mine employment, and the judge's finding that it had not rebutted the fifteen-year presumption. The Board upheld the finding…
Donnie P. Dalton v. ICG Tygart Valley LLC and Arch Coal Company, Incorporated
Dalton v. ICG Tygart Valley (BRB 22-0011 BLA): complicated pneumoconiosis evidence sent back
Donnie Dalton appealed the denial of black lung benefits after fourteen years of coal mine work. The fifteen-year presumption did not apply, and the administrative law judge found he had not proved complicated pneumoconiosis for a separate presumption. The Board held that the judge had not…
Curtis M. Osborne v. Island Creek Coal Company and CONSOL Energy, Incorporated
Osborne v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 21-0611 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Curtis Osborne sought black lung benefits after 29.86 years of underground coal mine work. Although his breathing tests did not independently establish total disability under the regulatory values, the administrative law judge credited a doctor's opinion that reduced oxygen levels during light…
Aaron Gambill v. CONSOL, Incorporated and CONSOL Energy, Incorporated
Gambill v. CONSOL (BRB 21-0610 BLA): benefits denial vacated for a complete medical evaluation
Aaron Gambill appealed the denial of his black lung benefits claim without a lawyer. He had sixteen years of underground coal mine work, but the administrative law judge found he had not established total disability. After an earlier remand for a valid breathing test, the Department of Labor…
Lee R. Hayes v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Hayes v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 21-0521 BLA): benefits denial sent back under proper burden
Lee Hayes appealed the denial of his third black lung benefits claim without a lawyer. With at least 25 years of underground coal mine work, he invoked the fifteen-year presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis. The Board majority held that Clinchfield Coal was bound by its prior concession…
Robert E. Frazier v. Island Creek Coal Company and CONSOL Energy, Incorporated
Frazier v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 21-0505 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Robert Frazier sought black lung benefits after 33 years of qualifying coal mine work. Island Creek Coal argued that older medical discussions of black lung made his claim untimely. The Board upheld the administrative law judge's finding that the filing period had reset when Frazier returned to…
M.H., claiming as widow of M.H., and General Services Administration, Baltimore, MD
Board returns survivor claim for medical clarification (ECAB 23-0286)
The widow of a General Services Administration elevator mechanic sought survivor benefits after his death. He had accepted back and other injuries from earlier work incidents, and medical opinions differed on whether those injuries contributed to his death. The Board found the second opinion…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Gulfport, MS
Board upholds denial of postal hand injury claim (ECAB 23-0236)
A postal mail processing clerk reported that her wrist and hand were caught between two rolling mail racks. A physician diagnosed a contusion but listed a different approximate injury date and did not relate the diagnosis to the accepted incident. Another treatment note did not identify its author…
C.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Castle Point VA Medical Center, Wappingers Falls, NY
Board upholds denial of continuation of pay for late COVID claim (ECAB 23-0147)
A VA licensed practical nurse reported contracting COVID-19 while caring for patients at work. She filed the approved traumatic injury form on September 26, 2022, more than 30 days after the alleged August 9 incident. The Board held that the statutory filing deadline barred continuation of pay and…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission, Board and Authority decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, the Authority at FLRA, the Board of Immigration Appeals, the Administrative Review Board at Labor, and the Environmental Appeals Board at EPA). These are citable as precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by the agency's Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.
- Why finality matters: Every page here says which kind of decision you are reading, so you know whether it is precedent you can cite or a final order that only shows how one judge ruled on one set of facts.
- Where they come from: Every page links the official public release from the deciding agency, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.