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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Matter of Dela Cruz
Revocation of spouse visa petition upheld
A permanent resident sought a spouse visa preference for a person she had married in the Philippines in 1972. The immigration office in Manila revoked the initially approved petition after learning the couple were first cousins. The Board applied the Philippine Civil Code in force when they married…
Matter of Gaglioti
Adjustment denied under literacy requirement
An Italian man sought permanent residence through adjustment of status after his U.S. citizen sister obtained an approved visa petition for him. The Regional Commissioner found that he could not read any language. Although he was deaf, the decision found that deafness alone did not establish…
McDevitt & Street Co.
Material-hoist violation reclassified as serious
McDevitt & Street was the general contractor on a construction project using an unenclosed material-hoist platform about twelve to fourteen feet above ground. A subcontractor employee had died after falling from the platform the day before OSHA inspected, and an employee of McDevitt & Street was…
Losli, Inc.
$100 power-shear guarding penalty affirmed
Losli operated a sheet-metal fabrication plant with a twelve-foot Wysong shear. The point-of-operation guard had an opening that did not prevent employees' fingers from entering the cutting area. The employer contested only the proposed $550 penalty and repeatedly admitted the violation. The judge…
Matter of Gamero
Valid marriage requires further inquiry
A U.S. citizen sought immediate relative status for her husband. The District Director denied the petition because he concluded that the husband's earlier Mexican marriage had not been legally ended. The Board found that a Chihuahua divorce was recognizable in Baja California, where the couple…
Getter Trucking, Inc.
General duty citation vacated for lack of feasible measures
Getter Trucking helped recover a derailed locomotive using winch trucks and wire-rope cables. A cable caught under a crawler tractor became taut and snapped free, striking an employee who later died. OSHA alleged that the company failed to keep employees away from the cable under tension. The judge…
Matter of Fong
Hearing reopened for suspension application
The immigration service appealed an immigration judge's decision to postpone a woman's deportation hearing indefinitely. The judge had relied on Ninth Circuit decisions about a statutory exemption that could end her deportation case, leaving her application for suspension of deportation unheard…
Straight Creek Constructors
Unsafe tunnel access upheld, two other items dismissed
Straight Creek Constructors was working at the Straight Creek Tunnel when OSHA cited three nonserious violations involving access routes, a cracked hydrocrane window, and welding-arc shielding. The Commission found that a narrow tunnel ramp was unsafe because the company's procedures did not…
Eastern Knitting Mills, Inc.
Employer's abatement letter treated as a contest
OSHA cited Eastern Knitting Mills for 12 nonserious violations and proposed $400 in penalties. Within the statutory contest period, the company wrote that it had corrected or was correcting all items except item 10 and asked for help because it did not know how to meet that item's abatement…
Lee Way Motor Freight, Inc.
Open service-pit citation restored
Lee Way Motor Freight operated four long vehicle-service pits without covers or guardrails. Mechanics worked around and stepped over the pits, and the surrounding floor could become wet with oil, ice, snow, or rainwater. The judge vacated that item because the accident risk appeared low, but the…
Matter of Acosta
Return after imprisonment counted as an entry
The immigration service appealed an immigration judge's order ending deportation proceedings against a Mexican permanent resident. The man had been jailed in Mexico for about six months after crossing the border to report to a court there, then returned to the United States before committing a…
H-E Lowdermilk Company
Backup observer and cylinder violations upheld
H-E Lowdermilk Company was building a Colorado highway when OSHA cited six construction-safety violations. The Commission found that trucks with obstructed rear views lacked alarms and were backed while bulldozer operators assigned as observers were not always free to watch and signal, so it…
James E. Roberts Company and Soule Steel Company
Subcontractor liable for crane power-line hazard
James E. Roberts Company was the general contractor for a hospital addition, and Soule Steel Company was the reinforcing-steel subcontractor. A crane working near uninsulated 12,000-volt lines contacted the lines while a Soule employee guided suspended reinforcing steel, and the employee was…
J.E. Roupp & Company, Inc. and Denver Dry Wall Company
Drywall fall violations upheld
J.E. Roupp was the general contractor for an apartment-building project, and Denver Dry Wall was a subcontractor. A Denver Dry Wall employee was killed after stored railings fell and pushed him from an unguarded fourth-floor balcony, and another employee used a stairway without handrails or…
Matter of Jaliawala
Late appeal dismissed after missed adjustment hearing
A Pakistani student was found deportable for failing to comply with the conditions of his admission, but received voluntary departure. At his request, the immigration judge reopened the case so he could seek adjustment of status based on a visa petition filed by his United States citizen wife. His…
Matter of Checa
Missing immigrant visa remained an independent deportation ground
An Ecuadorian man entered the United States without the immigrant visa required for his intended stay. He said he had falsely claimed United States citizenship at the border and argued that a statutory fraud waiver protected him because his child was a citizen. The immigration judge did not believe…
York Metal Finishing Company
Two failure-to-abate items upheld
York Metal Finishing, an electroplating company, did not contest an original four-item citation and paid $59 in penalties. After reinspection, OSHA alleged that all four conditions remained and proposed $1,058 in additional failure-to-abate penalties. The Commission held that OSHA establishes a…
Advance Air Conditioning, Inc.
Roof-opening violation affirmed under specific standard
Advance Air Conditioning was installing ductwork at the Las Vegas Convention Center while employees worked on a roof with unguarded openings 48 to 51 feet above ground. One employee fell through a 2-by-30-foot opening located within inches of his work area after the opening had remained unguarded…
Metals Selling Corporation, Inc.
Combustible-liquid cabinet item vacated
Metals Selling Corporation manufactured metallic chemicals and structures, with much of its business involving magnesium grinding. OSHA issued 20 nonserious items covering housekeeping, aisles, stairs, exits, gas cylinders, personal protective equipment, fire protection, machine guarding…
John J. Gordon Company
Judge's order affirmed after appellate remand
The Second Circuit remanded this matter to the Commission. In accordance with the court's order, the Commission affirmed Judge David H. Harris's May 5, 1972 order. This short release does not state the underlying citation, the applicable safety standard, the judge's reasoning, or any penalty result.
Morrison-Knudsen & Associates
Noise-exposure violations affirmed
Morrison-Knudsen was constructing antiballistic-missile facilities in North Dakota. Noise measurements described in the attached judge's decision ranged from 100 to 112 dBA, and employees performing grinding, impact-wrench, and air-arcing work were observed without hearing protection. Although the…
Home Supply Company; Al J. Schneider Company, Inc.; and Al J. Schneider and Associates, Inc.
Four high-rise fall hazards upheld
Home Supply Company and two Al J. Schneider companies operated as a joint enterprise while constructing the 24-story Louisville Trust Building. The Commission affirmed four serious general duty clause violations involving unguarded floor perimeters, elevator-shaft openings, stairway openings, and…
Matter of Kong
Later registered adoption missed age limit
A lawful permanent resident petitioned for a person she said she had adopted in Burma as her son. The family had performed a ceremonial Appatittha adoption when he was young, then registered a Kittima adoption when he was nearly 15. The Board found that the ceremonial form created only limited…
Matter of Holmes
Petitioner must see adverse evidence before denial
A United States citizen petitioned for his wife to receive immediate relative status. The District Director denied the petition after taking a statement from the wife that cast doubt on the marriage, but the record did not show that the petitioner had been told of the statement or given a chance to…
Fineberg Packing Company, Inc.
OSHA sanitation item reinstated despite USDA rules
Fineberg Packing, a meat processor, received a nine-item nonserious citation covering electrical, exit, fire-protection, housekeeping, sanitation, and ladder conditions. The judge vacated the sanitation item because Department of Agriculture rules under the Wholesome Meat Act also regulated plant…
The Murphy Company
Three failure-to-abate items upheld, two vacated
The Murphy Company operated an Oregon wood-veneer plant and did not contest an original citation containing 18 nonserious violations. A later reinspection led OSHA to allege failure to abate five items and failure to post the original citation. The Commission affirmed failure to abate the…
Matter of Merced
Temporary permission to stay did not prevent deportation proceedings
A married couple from the Philippines remained in the United States after their visitor stays expired. The District Director approved a visa petition for the husband and temporarily permitted him to remain, but later revoked that permission and began deportation proceedings against both spouses…
Matter of Yau
Crewman's landing permit supported deportation order
A Chinese crewman remained in the United States after his authorized shore leave ended. An immigration judge excluded his landing permit and related records because officers had not given him a Miranda warning, then ended the deportation case. The Board held that officers briefly detained him…
Matter of Samedi
California annulment supported rescission of adjustment
The respondent received permanent resident status through adjustment after marrying a United States citizen. A California court later annulled the marriage because of fraud alleged by his wife about his intention to have children. The immigration judge rescinded the adjustment, and the Board…
Yorba Linda Electric, Inc.
Electrical-proximity citation vacated for lack of proof
Yorba Linda Electric was extending a 480-volt electrical system at a Mobil Oil field when an employee working on a pole was found hanging limp from his safety belt and died. OSHA cited the company for allowing work close enough to an energized circuit for contact without effective protection. The…
Matter of Grewal
Fiancé visa petition denied because the couple had not met
A U.S. citizen petitioned for fiancé classification for a man in India. Her father had arranged their marriage according to a custom that did not permit the couple to meet before the wedding. The district director denied the petition because the petitioner had never personally met the beneficiary…
Matter of Zingis
Set-aside youth conviction no longer supported deportation
The respondent had been ordered deported after a District of Columbia narcotics conviction. A court later resentenced him under the Federal Youth Corrections Act, discharged him from probation, and set aside that conviction. The immigration judge then ended deportation proceedings, and the Board…
Painting Unlimited, Inc.
Unsafe access upheld, ladder side-rail item vacated
Painting Unlimited was spray-painting bridge girders from a scaffold more than 40 feet above the ground. Employees had to hoist themselves about four feet from the scaffold to the girder because no suitable ladder, stairway, ramp, or runway provided safe access. The Commission affirmed that access…
Matter of Sepulveda
Citizenship claim did not justify reopening deportation case
A man born in Mexico to a United States citizen mother and a Mexican father sought to reopen his deportation case by claiming United States citizenship. The immigration judge denied reopening, and the Board dismissed his appeal. The Board held that the citizenship law in force at his birth required…
Owens-Illinois, Inc., Lily Tulip Division
Noise-abatement settlement approved conditionally
Owens-Illinois contested only the abatement period for a noise-control item under 29 C.F.R. § 1910.95(b)(1). The company and the Secretary stipulated to extend the abatement date from May 22, 1974, to May 22, 1976, and the company moved to withdraw its contest. The Commission treated the…
The Budd Co.
Foot-protection and fuel-cylinder citations affirmed
The Budd Company operated two manufacturing plants where some employees lacked required toe protection and workers used acetylene cylinders with their valve ends raised only 30 to 45 degrees above horizontal. The Commission allowed Budd to withdraw its contests to the foot-protection items and held…
Matter of Hernandez
Attorney General rejected citizenship finding and remanded
A woman born in Mexico claimed United States citizenship through her U.S. citizen mother. The Board found that her parents' informal relationship was not a marriage under Mexican law, making her eligible for citizenship under the 1940 nationality rule for a child born outside marriage. On referral…
Matter of Patel
Student exemption applied to adjustment filing and case remanded
An Indian student applied to adjust to permanent resident status without a labor certification. The district director denied the application after a regulation revoking the student exemption took effect. A court later held that revocation ineffective because it had been adopted without notice, and…
DIC-Underhill, A Joint Venture
Open-floor citation affirmed and storage item vacated
DIC-Underhill was constructing high-rise housing where employees worked on open-sided upper floors without perimeter railings or personal fall protection. The judge found a serious violation because five employees were exposed on three floors and a fall could have grave consequences. He assessed…
Matter of Vrettakos
Immigration judge lacked authority to grant readmission permission
A Greek crewman was found deportable after entering the United States following refusal of temporary landing permission. The immigration judge also granted him retroactive permission to reapply for admission after deportation. On the Service's appeal, the Board set aside that grant because it could…
Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Co.
Noise citation affirmed without a penalty
Southern Indiana Gas & Electric operated a generating station where boiler-room sound readings reached 97 to 103 dBA. The utility had supplied ear protection and was pursuing an engineering solution, but the judge found that it did not consistently require employees to use the protection. The…
CAM Industries, Inc.
Confined-space welding ventilation item reinstated
CAM Industries fabricated steel products and received a multi-item citation covering electrical, welding, housekeeping, eye protection, crane, platform, and recordkeeping conditions. During OSHA's inspection, an employee was welding inside a roughly 100-cubic-foot tank while an available exhaust…
Matter of Mladineo
Unsupported persecution claim did not reopen deportation case
An immigration judge found the respondent deportable and granted voluntary departure. The Board dismissed her first appeal as untimely, leaving the judge's ruling undisturbed. She later sought to reopen the case to apply for withholding of deportation to Chile. The Board took the request on…
Matter of Harutunian
Public charge finding upheld an adjustment denial
A stateless woman who had entered the United States on parole applied for permanent residence. She received California old age assistance and had no apparent means of supporting herself. Her lawyer argued that the aid did not create a repayment debt, invoking a rule for deporting someone who had…
Modern Automotive Service, Inc.
Foot-protection item affirmed and first-aid item vacated
Modern Automotive serviced and repaired trucks, and its employees manually handled tools, parts, and materials weighing as much as 60 pounds. The company had experienced toe injuries over five years, and its safety director acknowledged that foot protection would have prevented some of them. The…
Beall Construction Co.
Construction penalties reduced to $620
Beall Construction was the general contractor on a 12-story building project and faced serious, other-than-serious, and failure-to-abate allegations with proposed penalties totaling $35,442. The Commission adopted the judge's mixed disposition of the citations, including a serious violation for a…
Daniel Rubin Painting Corp.
Notice of contest dismissed after unanswered complaint
Daniel Rubin Painting did not file an answer after receiving the Secretary's complaint and a warning that its notice of contest could be dismissed. The judge dismissed the contest under the Commission's procedural rules. Although the Secretary's dismissal motion lacked the required formal proof of…
Matter of Udagawa
Tempura chef did not qualify as treaty investor employee
A Japanese corporation sought to employ a tempura chef at its San Francisco restaurant to cook and train American workers. The chef arrived with a treaty investor visa, but an immigration judge found him excludable. The Board dismissed his appeal. It held that the planned job did not place him in a…
Eckerd's Tri-Roads, Inc.
Four-item citation vacated with prejudice
Eckerd's Tri-Roads, a retail drug store, received a four-item citation covering the OSHA poster, annual injury and illness summary, fire-extinguisher mounting, and housekeeping. The judge affirmed all four items, assessed $50 for the poster item, and vacated a proposed $100 penalty for the…
Florida East Coast Properties, Inc.
Settlement cuts one penalty but retains serious classification
Florida East Coast Properties received two serious construction citations and several other-than-serious items, but contested only the proposed penalties. In a settlement, the Secretary agreed that the evidence could not sustain the serious classification for an open-sided-floor item and proposed…
Sunpruf Aluminum Products, Inc.
Eight safety items affirmed without penalties
Sunpruf manufactured aluminum storm windows and doors at a Nashville plant with about 30 employees. OSHA cited conditions involving electrical boxes, compressed air, respiratory and welding protection, personal protective equipment, first aid, housekeeping, and aisle marking. The Secretary withdrew…
Lundell Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Gasoline vent classified as serious with a $25 penalty
Lundell Manufacturing had an underground gasoline tank whose vent ended 6 feet 7 inches above the ground instead of the required 12 feet. The vent was outside, about 75 feet from the building, protected by a guard and fence, and away from regular employee work, and the company had it extended…
Matter of Fortis
Accepted no contest plea supported deportation order
An immigration judge ordered the respondent deported to El Salvador after a California marijuana possession conviction. The respondent appealed, arguing that his no contest plea did not count as a conviction under the deportation statute. The Board rejected that argument and upheld the judge's…
Matter of Heitland
Delivery business did not qualify for investor exemption
A husband and wife sought permanent residence after entering the United States as nonimmigrants. The husband operated a delivery service and argued that his investment exempted him from the labor certification requirement. The Board counted his truck and radio, valued at $3,400, but excluded a…
Dore Wrecking Co.
Eye-protection item vacated and two penalties reduced
Dore Wrecking was demolishing a building with its own employees and specialized subcontractors. The Commission vacated an eye-protection item because the unprotected drill operator worked for a subcontractor, Dore did not control him, and no Dore employee was shown to be exposed to the condition…
Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.
Fire-equipment citation vacated for issuance delay
A Chicago Bridge & Iron employee was welding on top of a chemical tank at least 80 feet above ground when his clothing caught fire and he was fatally injured. OSHA inspected six days later and cited the company for failing to have suitable fire-extinguishing equipment immediately available…
Crone Lumber Co.
Citation affirmed after employer accepted late-answer ruling
Crone Lumber filed its answer to the Secretary's complaint late. The judge found no mitigating circumstances, struck the answer, and affirmed the complaint, citation, and proposed penalties. After review was directed, the company's counsel advised that it had sent the $50 penalty payment and would…
Matter of Kim
Adult legitimation did not establish sibling preference
A United States citizen petitioned for immigrant preference status for a man she described as her brother. They had the same father, but he was born to the father's concubine in Korea. Under Korean law, he became legitimated only after his father married his mother in 1943, when the man was over…
Matter of Kalia
Student could not extend practical training through exchange visitor status
An Indian student had received 18 months of practical training while in F-1 status. He sought exchange visitor status for two more years of training as a university library specialist. The district director denied the change, and the Regional Commissioner found no unusual circumstances justifying…
Richmond Block, Inc.
Mixer lockout citation vacated after employee disregarded procedure
Richmond Block manufactured concrete products and used electrically powered mixers that employees entered for cleaning. The company had installed a padlock-based energy-isolation system, trained employees to use it, and instructed them to keep the key while inside a mixer. One employee entered…
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.