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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Denver L. Barnett v. Twin Star Mining of KY, Incorporated and ANR Incorporated
Barnett v. Twin Star Mining (BRB 21-0624 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Denver Barnett worked at least fifteen years in surface coal mines under conditions similar to underground mining. A judge found that lung testing and medical opinions established a totally disabling respiratory impairment, triggering the statutory presumption that the disability was due to…
Dorothy E. Novak, Widow of Charles Novak v. Helen Mining Company and Valley Camp Coal Company
Novak v. Helen Mining Company (BRB 21-0485 BLA): survivor's black lung award affirmed
Dorothy Novak sought survivor's black lung benefits after the death of her husband, a coal miner. After an earlier Board remand, the judge again found that her son’s testimony and the miner's treatment records established a disabling respiratory impairment at the time of death. The Board majority…
C.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Paterson Main Post Office, Paterson, NJ
Board reverses termination of postal worker wage-loss benefits (ECAB 23-0013)
The physician noted that radiculitis persisted and diagnosed a failed cervical fusion, yet concluded that C.G. could work full time without explaining how those conditions affected her ability to work. OWCP had not justified ending payments.
T.B. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix, Fort Dix, NJ
Board remands consequential knee condition for medical opinion (ECAB 22-1170)
The physician’s opinion was speculative and did not resolve whether a quadriceps rupture or other left knee condition followed the accepted injury. OWCP must seek a supplemental opinion or another second opinion and decide the claim anew.
D.T. and Department of the Army, Chemical Materials Agency, Pueblo Chemical Depot, Pueblo, CO
Board affirms denial of disputed hand injury claim (ECAB 22-1156)
D.T. reported the injury weeks later and did not adequately describe where or how it happened at work. Supervisors recalled him saying he hurt the hand at home; the Board found the on-duty incident unproven.
M.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Pahrump Post Office, Pahrump, NV
Board affirms prior seven percent arm award (ECAB 22-1112)
M.A. requested additional schedule compensation for her arm. The Board reviewed the impairment evidence and found it insufficient to support an award beyond the seven percent already paid. OWCP’s March 4, 2022 decision therefore remained in effect, with no further left arm award granted.
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Kilmer Processing & Distribution Center, Edison, NJ
Board returns postal worker's impairment claim and reverses related overpayment (ECAB 22-0020, 22-0297)
A postal worker challenged the denial of a lower extremity impairment award and a related $13,555.39 overpayment decision. OWCP's impartial examiner reported that he had not received the full medical record and questioned conditions that OWCP had already accepted. The Board ordered OWCP to provide…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Kilmer Processing and Distribution Center, Edison, NJ
Board remands leg award and reverses related overpayment (ECAB 22-0020)
The examiner had not received all imaging and prior claim records needed to resolve conflicting impairment opinions. OWCP must develop the award issue further; the related September 2018 through January 2019 overpayment decision could not stand.
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Metropolitan Correctional Center, San Diego, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3619, Council of Prison Locals 33
MCC San Diego and AFGE Local 3619 (FLRA 0-AR-5856): Authority remands clothing-allowance award for findings
The federal prison regularly assigned clerical employees to help correctional officers guard inmates, although the clerical employees did not receive uniform allowances or steel-toe footwear. An arbitrator awarded affected employees a $350 annual clothing allowance and recurring steel-toe shoes or…
Betty Pack, Widow of Ronnie Pack v. Eastern Associated Coal Company and Peabody Energy Corporation
Pack v. Eastern Associated Coal (BRB 22-0379 BLA): survivor benefits and carrier liability affirmed
Betty Pack qualified for automatic survivor's black lung benefits because her husband had been awarded benefits before his death. Eastern Associated Coal and Peabody Energy challenged the way the claim was handled and disputed Peabody's liability as carrier. The Board held that the regulations…
Smith v. Akal Express, Inc.
Default affirmed and punitive damages remanded
Shervis Smith alleged that Akal Express and its manager constructively discharged him in violation of the STAA. The respondents received the case orders but did not participate in discovery, prepare the joint prehearing filing, or answer a show-cause order, so the Board upheld default as an…
T.B. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Barstow, CA
Board remands disability claim before second opinion completed (ECAB 22-1304)
Once OWCP chose to develop the medical record, it needed to finish that work. The Board instructed it to consider the examiner’s report and issue a new decision on the claimed disability period. It had not resolved her work capacity when it issued the denial.
A.H. and Department of the Army, Corpus Christi Army Depot, Corpus Christi, TX
Board affirms denial of renewed treatment claim (ECAB 22-0901)
The Board reviewed the evidence for a recurrence of the need for treatment many years after the accepted injury. It found that A.H. had not carried the burden of linking the new treatment period to that injury.
L.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lake Mary, FL
Board remands disputed impairment ratings for both arms (ECAB 22-0839)
The physicians disagreed about the severity and presence of several cervical nerve motor deficits. Their conflicting opinions required an impartial medical specialist before OWCP could decide the schedule award.
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
Board orders further review of postal worker knee conditions (ECAB 21-0852)
The physician’s reasoned account was sufficient to require further medical development, although the Board did not decide ultimate causation. OWCP must seek a specialist opinion and issue a new decision.
L.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cordova, TN
Board affirms denial of late reconsideration request (ECAB 21-0844)
The Board reviewed the request under the rule for reconsideration outside the ordinary filing period. It found that the submitted material did not meet the demanding clear-error standard and left OWCP’s December 17, 2020 decision in place.
L.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Los Angeles Bulk Mail Center, Bell, CA
Board reverses premature wage-loss overpayment (ECAB 20-1260)
OWCP treated L.G.’s full-time CT technologist earnings as ending compensation retroactively, but skipped the notice and final modification procedure for the prior wage-earning capacity determination. The Board found the overpayment premature.
Cornel D. Sutherland v. Maxxim Shared Services, LLC and Chartis Casualty Company
Sutherland v. Maxxim Shared Services (BRB 21-0605 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Cornel Sutherland had at least twenty-five years of qualifying coal mine work. A judge found him totally disabled by a respiratory impairment and applied the fifteen-year presumption that the disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Maxxim Shared Services challenged the disability finding, arguing…
Glaston D. DeHart v. Hobet Mining, Incorporated and Arch Resources, Incorporated
DeHart v. Hobet Mining (BRB 21-0599 BLA): black lung benefits and carrier liability affirmed
Glaston DeHart filed a subsequent black lung claim after an earlier denial. The judge found almost twenty-seven years of surface coal mine work under conditions similar to underground mining and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. That triggered the statutory presumption that his disability…
N.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Islandia, NY
Board remands arm claim to combine related case files (ECAB 23-0044)
OWCP must administratively combine the related files and review all relevant evidence before deciding whether the current left upper extremity condition is connected to employment. The Board left entitlement unresolved.
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
Board remands disability claim for focused medical opinion (ECAB 22-1377)
OWCP must update the statement of accepted facts and seek a supplemental opinion on whether L.S. was disabled during the claimed October 2020 through February 2022 period because of her accepted August 2020 injury.
A.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Palm Beach VA Medical Center, West Palm Beach, FL
Board affirms denial of COVID continuation of pay (ECAB 22-1355)
The Board used the last exposure date as the injury date under OWCP’s COVID-19 guidance. The much later filing of the approved injury form did not meet FECA’s timing requirement for continuation of pay.
L.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Pittsburgh Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
Board accepts workplace truck incident and remands injury question (ECAB 22-1137)
Her account was supported by the supervisor’s statement and prompt medical contact. The Board accepted the event as occurring during work but left the medical link to the claimed face, shoulder, and neck conditions for OWCP.
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Dominick V. Daniels Processing and Distribution Center, Kearny, NJ
Board remands proposed lumbar surgery for reasoned opinion (ECAB 22-1067)
The referral physician called the surgery aggressive and dangerous but did not identify specific findings supporting denial of medical necessity. OWCP must obtain a reasoned supplemental opinion or another evaluation and decide the request anew.
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mahwah, NJ
Board affirms denial of right wrist condition (ECAB 22-0826)
The Board distinguished the accepted incident from the separate medical question of causal relationship. It found that S.M. had not met her burden of proof for the right wrist diagnosis, leaving OWCP’s November 17, 2021 decision effective.
V.D. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Jamaica, NY
Board affirms residuals denial and remands schedule award (ECAB 22-0123)
An OWCP medical adviser recommended a second-opinion impairment evaluation, but the agency denied the schedule award without obtaining it. The Board directed that review while leaving the continuing-disability denial in place.
J.G. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Paradise Fossil Plant, Drakesboro, KY
Board dismisses appeal from agency correspondence (ECAB 22-0657)
The Board’s jurisdiction requires a final adverse OWCP decision. The letter gave J.G. and his treating physician time to review the report but did not decide benefits, so the Board could not review it as an appealable decision.
E.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Jack D. Watson Processing and Distribution Center, Fort Worth, TX
Board upholds suspension and remands overpayment calculation (ECAB 21-1231)
The suspension overlapped the period used to calculate the overpayment. OWCP had not explained whether it accounted for that overlap, so it must calculate the debt again and issue a new preliminary determination.
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Thomaston Post Office, Thomaston, GA
Board upholds denial of postal worker's disability claim and reconsideration request (ECAB 21-0482, 21-1051)
A postal city carrier sought disability compensation for two periods after OWCP accepted a thoracic spine condition. For July 20 through August 1, 2019, the Board upheld OWCP's refusal to reopen the claim because the reconsideration request supplied no relevant new evidence or argument. For June 9…
C.U. and Department of the Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, WA
Board affirms denial of Navy worker reconsideration (ECAB 21-0965)
C.U. offered no new legal argument or pertinent factual evidence meeting the reconsideration rule. Medical reports did not cure the missing proof of the incident itself, so the Board upheld the nonmerit denial.
R.M. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Carlsbad, NM
Board affirms refusal to reopen injury claim (ECAB 21-0963)
The underlying issue required a medical opinion linking a diagnosed condition to the accepted March 21, 2020 incident. The submitted ambulance record was not signed by a qualifying physician and could not establish that point.
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Thomaston Post Office, Thomaston, GA
Board affirms two disability claim denials (ECAB 21-0482)
The reconsideration submission did not warrant a merits review of the later period, and the record did not establish that the earlier period of disability was caused by the accepted employment injury. Both OWCP decisions remained in effect.
A.I. and Department of Defense, National Security Agency, Fort Meade, MD
Board affirms hearing rating and remands award pay rate (ECAB 21-0248)
The employer supplied a retirement date but did not establish whether that was the last exposure date used to calculate the award. OWCP must determine the exposure date and corresponding pay rate before deciding whether the award was paid correctly.
N.U. and U.S. Postal Service, La Puente Post Office, La Puente, CA
Board affirms denial of shoulder claim expansion (ECAB 22-1329)
N.U. sought coverage for a right shoulder rotator cuff tear after an accepted postal work injury. The Board had already considered the earlier evidence, and the new report did not supply an affirmative, reasoned opinion supporting expansion.
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Frederick N. Weathers Post Office, St. Louis, MO
Board affirms refusal to reopen schedule award claim (ECAB 22-1141)
R.S. submitted a FECA policy transmittal but no new medical evidence with his reconsideration request. The Board found that the policy document did not show legal error or advance a new relevant legal argument. OWCP’s refusal to reopen the schedule award claim stood.
R.N. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Palo Alto VA Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA
Board affirms denial of renewed knee treatment (ECAB 22-0786)
R.N. sought treatment for renewed knee symptoms following an accepted October 2020 injury. The physicians’ reports did not provide the needed causal explanation, so the Board upheld the recurrence denial.
P.S. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Camarillo, CA
Board remands hearing loss filing deadline dispute (ECAB 22-0640)
P.S. retired after work involving loud equipment and later filed a hearing loss claim. The employer did not provide its hearing tests despite OWCP’s requests. OWCP must obtain those records and issue a new decision.
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Colby, WI
Board upholds overpayment and remands waiver review (ECAB 22-0464)
J.R. was without fault in receiving overlapping benefits, but OWCP had not considered all the financial evidence she submitted before denying waiver. The Board upheld the amount of the debt while requiring OWCP to reconsider waiver and recovery using the full record.
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Hilo Post Office, Hilo, HI
Board remands postal worker emotional condition claim (ECAB 22-0237)
A Postal Service inquiry substantiated improper sharing of private employee information and harassment by D.L.’s supervisor. OWCP must assess the medical evidence for a causal link and issue a new decision.
A.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Network Distribution Center
Board affirms refusal to reopen pallet jack injury claim (ECAB 21-0853)
A.E. alleged that a pallet jack injured his foot at work. The new medical evidence did not address the disputed factual question of whether the alleged incident occurred, and he offered no qualifying new legal argument.
Secretary of Labor v. Dragon Products Company, LLC
Tracked contest mailing supported reopening
Dragon Products said it timely mailed its penalty contest by certified mail with return receipt requested, but MSHA had no record of receiving it and the Postal Service tracking had expired. MSHA received partial payment of the assessment and later mailed a delinquency notice. Dragon moved to…
Secretary of Labor v. Dragon Products Company, LLC
Nonreceipt prevented assessment finality
Dragon Products said it never received MSHA's proposed penalty assessment. The Secretary agreed that the assessment had been returned to MSHA rather than delivered to the operator. The Commission held that Dragon never had an opportunity to contest, so the assessment did not become a final order…
Secretary of Labor v. Blue Mountain Energy, Inc.
Misdirected contest was reopened
Blue Mountain Energy intended to contest one citation after MSHA upheld it at a safety and health conference. The company mistakenly mailed its contest to the Commission and an MSHA conference litigation representative instead of the correct MSHA address. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but…
Lenora Bryant v. Kinder Morgan and Old Republic Insurance Company
Bryant v. Kinder Morgan (BRB 22-0184): employer-paid attorney fee reversed
Lenora Bryant sustained a head injury while working at Kinder Morgan's terminal. The company initially disputed some medical treatment and the calculation of her average weekly wage, but the parties resolved those issues during informal proceedings. The district director later ordered the company…
Joseph C. Oxenrider v. Kimmel’s Mining, Incorporated and Rockwood Casualty Insurance Company
Oxenrider v. Kimmel's Mining (BRB 21-0588 BLA): disability issue remanded
Joseph Oxenrider appealed the denial of his black lung benefits claim. The Board upheld the judge's calculation of 12.11 years of coal mine work, which was too little to invoke the fifteen-year presumption. It also agreed that his lung function tests did not meet the regulatory disability…
Kathy Blankenship v. Justus Coal Corporation
Blankenship v. Justus Coal (BRB 21-0551 BLA): twelfth modification request denied
Kathy Blankenship sought to reopen a survivor's black lung claim that had previously been denied. Her twelfth modification request included no new medical evidence, and the judge dismissed it. The Board majority held that dismissal on that basis was an error because the judge still had to consider…
Geraldine R. Mullins, Widow of Donald C. Mullins v. Clinchfield Coal Company and The Pittston Company
Mullins v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 21-0363 BLA): survivor benefits awarded on modification
Geraldine Mullins sought survivor's black lung benefits after her husband's death. An earlier judge denied the claim, but a second judge found a factual mistake in that denial and awarded benefits on modification. The Board majority upheld reliance on qualifying blood gas studies taken during the…
Tyler v. USA Debusk, LLC
Solid-waste retaliation denial affirmed
Michael Tyler, a maintenance manager for an industrial-services company, raised protected concerns about catalyst waste, a tank-wash system, and waste profiles for landfill disposal. The company later fired him after months of performance coaching and nine coworker complaints, including reports…
M.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Ridgewood, NJ
Board affirms refusal to reopen foot disability claim (ECAB 23-0281)
M.T. sought compensation for disability from March 20 through May 9, 2022 after an accepted foot injury. A new medical report did not address that period, and the submitted chiropractic notes did not qualify as competent medical evidence under the circumstances the Board described. OWCP’s denial of…
J.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Air Marshal Service, Herndon, VA
Board orders merits review of stress claim (ECAB 22-1086)
J.H. described new alleged incidents involving management in an August 2019 email. Those allegations addressed whether he had compensable workplace factors in his stress claim. The Board found the email sufficiently new and relevant to meet the reopening rule, leaving the claim’s merits for OWCP.
P.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Sam Rayburn Memorial Veterans Center, Bonham, TX
Board upholds overpayment and recovery rate (ECAB 22-0976)
P.B. received Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service while receiving FECA wage loss payments without the required offset. Although she was without fault, she did not establish grounds for waiver. The Board upheld deductions of $991.47 every 28 days.
B.S. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Fort Worth, TX
Board affirms continuation of pay denial (ECAB 22-0738)
B.S. filed her injury form on February 7, 2022, more than 30 days after the January 7 incident. The Board found that the continuation of pay deadline had no exception for the circumstances she described. Her reconsideration materials also did not warrant a new merits review.
T.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Salt Lake City, UT
Board affirms late written review request (ECAB 21-1063)
T.D. sought review after OWCP declined to expand his claim for dental injuries from a skiing outing with veterans. The Board measured the filing period from OWCP’s December 2020 decision and found the written review request too late. It therefore upheld OWCP’s denial of that review.
D.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boston, MA
Board remands postal worker back injury claim (ECAB 21-1002)
D.A. reported lower back pain after a January 2020 incident at the post office. Her physician diagnosed several lumbar and sacroiliac conditions. The Board found that this met the diagnosis requirement, but the record still needed a decision on the link between those conditions and the accepted…
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Riverdale, GA
Board remands timely request to reopen injury claim (ECAB 21-0706)
R.G. sought to add more conditions to an accepted injury claim after a workplace vehicle crash. OWCP treated her reconsideration request as late and applied the stricter clear error test. The Board found that an earlier denial letter started a new one year period, making her request timely.
Wildcat Renovation, LLC
Demolition survey and inspection citation vacated
Wildcat Renovation was demolishing concrete bridge-support walls at a Florida waterpark when a wall fell on an employee, causing fatal injuries. OSHA alleged that Wildcat failed to conduct an adequate pre-demolition engineering survey and failed to make continuing inspections as work progressed…
J.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, Portland, OR
Board remands telework injury claim (ECAB 21-0368)
J.F. hurt his shoulder and arm when his watch caught on his chair as he stood while working from home. The Board treated that incident as part of his work because he was performing his duties at the time. OWCP must now decide whether the medical evidence links an injury to the incident.
Billy R. Matics, Jr. v. Talon Resources, Incorporated and West Virginia Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis Fund
Matics v. Talon Resources (BRB 22-0424 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Billy Matics filed a subsequent black lung claim after an earlier denial. A judge found twenty-one years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment, triggering the fifteen-year presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Talon Resources did not…
Jaime David Tenorio Rodriguez v. SOC, LLC; Triple Canopy, Incorporated; and Continental Insurance Company
Tenorio Rodriguez v. SOC and Triple Canopy (BRB 22-0216): psychological injury benefits denial affirmed
Jaime Tenorio Rodriguez sought Defense Base Act benefits for a psychological condition he connected to security work in Iraq and Jordan. His clinicians diagnosed trauma-related conditions, while an examiner retained by an employer concluded that the evidence did not establish a work-related…
Samuel Lee Dials v. SMC Coal Terminal Company and Shell Mining
Dials v. SMC Coal Terminal (BRB 22-0013 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Samuel Dials had more than twenty-two years of underground coal mine work. A judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment and applied the fifteen-year presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. SMC Coal Terminal challenged the disability finding and argued that its doctors…
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.