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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J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Birmingham, AL
Board upholds denial of shoulder injury claim (ECAB 21-1082)
J.G. reported right shoulder pain after lifting and twisting while delivering mail. OWCP accepted that the April 26, 2021 work incident occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that her physician checked a causation box without explaining how the incident caused the diagnosed shoulder…
S.A. and U.S. Postal Service, International Service Center, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, NY
Board upholds termination of injury benefits (ECAB 20-1168)
OWCP terminated S.A.’s wage-loss compensation and medical benefits after an accepted postal injury. The Board found that an impartial physician’s examination showed the accepted conditions had resolved and remaining disability stemmed from other conditions. It affirmed the termination effective…
CentiMark Corporation
Roof-edge assessment was part of roofing work
CentiMark was preparing to replace sections of a commercial roof when OSHA observed a foreman within two feet of a low-slope roof edge 40 feet above the ground without fall protection. The foreman went to the edge to identify a location from which he or another employee could signal the crane…
Fama Construction, LLC
Roofing case remanded for controlling-employer analysis
OSHA cited Fama Construction for inadequate inspections, missing head protection, and missing fall protection at a residential roofing project. An administrative law judge granted summary judgment to the Secretary and affirmed all three violations. The Commission agreed that no material fact was…
R.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, Northport, NY
Board upholds continuation of pay denial (ECAB 23-0046)
R.D. reported a July 10, 2022 workplace COVID-19 exposure but filed her injury claim on September 17. The Board affirmed OWCP’s denial of continuation of pay because the approved injury form arrived more than 30 days after the exposure. Her earlier OSHA form did not satisfy the FECA filing…
D.M. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, U.S. Park Police, Washington, DC
Board upholds untimely reconsideration denial (ECAB 22-1152)
D.M. asked OWCP to reconsider its denial of an emotional injury claim more than a year after the last merit decision. The Board found the request untimely and the submitted material insufficient to show clear evidence of error. It affirmed OWCP’s refusal to reopen the case; the Board did not reach…
O.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Central Texas Health Care System, Temple, TX
Board upholds retirement benefit overpayment (ECAB 22-0906)
O.P. received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits during the same period without the required offset. The Board affirmed OWCP’s $8,925.66 overpayment finding for August 1, 2020 through September 11, 2021. It also upheld the denial of waiver and recovery through $250…
M.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Kissimmee Post Office, Kissimmee, FL
Board recognizes workplace factors and remands stress claim (ECAB 22-0227)
M.V. sought benefits for an emotional condition she attributed to treatment by postal supervisors. The Board found evidence of one verbal harassment incident and one instance of disparate treatment, but did not find her other personnel-management allegations compensable. It reversed part of OWCP’s…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. KBR Services, LLC
Premature wage appeal dismissed without prejudice
KBR Services sought two wage tiers for quality-control inspectors working under a United States Army service contract. A Wage and Hour Division section chief established one rate, and an investigator later emailed that the conformance would stand because KBR had not responded by a deadline. KBR…
McDowell v. Eagle Intermodal Inc.
STAA appeal dismissed after renewed briefing deadline missed
Kenneth McDowell appealed an administrative judge's dismissal of his STAA complaint. When he filed no opening brief or show-cause response, the Board initially dismissed the appeal, but later granted reconsideration after he said he had not received the electronic orders. The Board gave him a new…
K.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Diego, CA
Board upholds denial of head injury claim (ECAB 23-0062)
K.C. reported hitting his head while entering a postal vehicle. OWCP accepted that the August 6, 2022 work incident occurred, but the Board found no qualifying medical diagnosis connected to it. A chiropractor’s subluxation opinion lacked supporting x-ray evidence required for physician status…
D.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Pittsburgh VA Medical Center, University Drive, Pittsburgh, PA
Board upholds hearing abandonment ruling (ECAB 22-1251)
D.B. requested a telephone hearing concerning OWCP’s denial of continuation of pay. The notice was mailed to her address, but she did not call in at the scheduled time or give a timely explanation. The Board affirmed that she abandoned the hearing request. It did not decide the underlying…
W.B. and Department of the Navy, Supervisor of Shipbuilding Gulf Coast, Pascagoula, MS
Board upholds treatment recurrence denial (ECAB 22-0985)
W.B. sought renewed medical treatment for a left knee condition after an accepted Navy work injury. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately establish a renewed need for treatment caused by the accepted injury on or after September 28, 2021. It also affirmed OWCP’s refusal to…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Planetarium Station, New York, NY
Board upholds lower extremity award denial (ECAB 22-0564)
S.C. sought a schedule award for permanent leg impairment after an accepted postal injury. The Board gave weight to an impartial physician’s assessment finding no ratable impairment in either lower extremity. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of a schedule award because no other reasoned medical opinion…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
Board upholds knee claim and reconsideration denials (ECAB 21-1373)
J.L. sought benefits for left knee pain she attributed to her postal duties. The Board found that the medical reports did not explain how accepted work factors caused the diagnosed condition. It also upheld OWCP’s refusal to reopen the case because the reconsideration request supplied no qualifying…
Palacios Marine & Industrial Coating, Inc.
Six scaffold-related citation items vacated
Palacios Marine employees were erecting a scaffold-based shelter at a Texas petrochemical plant when a wooden plank broke and a scaffold builder fell seven feet, suffering broken bones that required reconstructive surgery. OSHA cited the company for alleged failures involving employer-provided and…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 338 and United States Department of Homeland Security, Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, Glynco, Georgia
NTEU Chapter 338 and Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLRA 0-AR-5837): Authority rejects whistleblower-remedy exception
An arbitrator found that a federal law-enforcement instructor's fourteen-day suspension did not promote the efficiency of the service, rescinded it, and awarded corresponding backpay. The union had also alleged whistleblower retaliation and requested compensatory damages, but the arbitrator…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Citizenship and Immigration Services Council 119 and United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
AFGE Council 119 and USCIS (FLRA 0-AR-5709): Authority remands official-time dispute under continued agreement
USCIS imposed official-time limits from a presidential executive order while the parties were negotiating a successor agreement and their existing agreement remained in effect under a continuance clause. An arbitrator allowed the change based on then-existing Authority precedent that treated the…
Matter of Jose Antonio GARCIA
Venue determines the controlling circuit law
The Board reviewed a respondent’s appeal from the denial of cancellation of removal. It clarified that the controlling circuit law is the law governing the geographic location of the Immigration Court where venue lies, regardless of where the parties or Immigration Judge are physically located…
D.F. and U.S. Postal Service, New Orleans Post Office, New Orleans, LA
Board upholds knee injury claim denial (ECAB 22-1143)
D.F. reported injuring his right knee when he tripped over a strap at postal work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred, but the Board found the record lacked a qualifying physician’s diagnosis connected to it. The nurse practitioner’s fracture diagnosis could not establish the medical element…
N.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Pasadena Post Office, Pasadena, TX
Board upholds retirement benefit overpayment (ECAB 22-0866)
N.A. received FECA wage-loss compensation alongside Social Security retirement benefits without the required offset. The Board affirmed the $44,709.29 overpayment for August 1, 2018 through January 30, 2021. It also upheld OWCP’s waiver denial because financial documentation was incomplete and…
M.J. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Charlotte, NC
Board remands finger impairment rating (ECAB 22-0787)
M.J. sought a larger schedule award after injuries to her right ring and little fingers. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser used a different finger flexion measurement from the treating physician without explaining why. It set aside the award decision and remanded for a clarified…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Carol Stream Processing and Distribution Center, Carol Stream, IL
Board upholds existing arm impairment ratings (ECAB 22-0148)
S.B. sought a larger schedule award for accepted hand and arm conditions. The Board found the medical adviser’s rating well supported at two percent impairment for each upper extremity, matching awards she had already received. It affirmed OWCP’s decision that she had not established a greater…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Booster-pump guarding citation affirmed
A guard over the Bailey Mine's 960 Booster Pump left a gap near a jagged, keyed shaft approximately 20 inches in diameter that rotated 300 to 900 times per minute. A contract greaser had to climb onto the pump frame and work about five inches from the shaft amid grease and spraying water. Consol…
Dana D. Allen v. Island Creek Coal Company and Consol Energy
Allen v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 21-0466 BLA): disability evidence remanded
Dana Allen sought black lung benefits after at least fifteen years of qualifying coal mine work. A judge found that he had legal pneumoconiosis but denied benefits because he had not proved a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board held that the judge had discounted a physician's…
D.R. and Department of the Navy, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Portsmouth, VA
Board dismisses appeal before OWCP final decision (ECAB 23-0095)
D.R. appealed after an OWCP hearing representative vacated a prior decision and sent the claim back for further development. The Board found there was no final adverse OWCP decision for it to review while that development continued. It dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, leaving the…
A.P. and Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Albuquerque, NM
Board upholds continuation of pay denial (ECAB 22-1007)
A.P. broke her collarbone in a March 9, 2022 fall from a snowmobile while working for the Forest Service. She filed the approved injury form on April 25, more than 30 days after the incident. The Board affirmed OWCP’s denial of continuation of pay because the filing did not meet the statutory…
E.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Columbus Processing and Distribution Center, Columbus, OH
Board upholds denial of mail-handling injury claim (ECAB 22-0606)
E.P. sought benefits for shoulder, hip, and knee conditions following a reported October 20, 2018 postal work incident. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how the accepted incident caused the diagnosed conditions and contained differing accounts of the event. It…
L.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Madison, WI
Board remands overlapping workplace illness claims (ECAB 21-1378)
L.R. filed two claims involving facial cellulitis and alleged bacteria exposure at her Transportation Security Administration workplace. OWCP accepted a temporary aggravation under one file but denied the other claim. The Board set aside the later denial and remanded for OWCP to determine whether…
Elmer W. Davis, Inc.
Roofing fall-protection citation vacated for employee misconduct
Elmer W. Davis assigned two employees to repair a low-slope commercial roof where a safety-monitoring system was permitted as the sole form of fall protection. OSHA observed both employees performing roofing work near an unprotected edge after the designated monitor stopped monitoring and joined…
R.G. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, Dallas, TX
Board upholds schedule award overpayment (ECAB 21-0491)
R.G. sought a larger arm impairment award after receiving schedule award compensation. The Board found no greater impairment than the ratings already paid and upheld a $26,608.85 overpayment because the award exceeded her entitlement. It also affirmed OWCP’s waiver denial based on her reported…
Secretary of Labor v. Potter South East, LLC
Bare reopening request denied with prejudice
Potter South East sought to reopen five assessments covering 62 citations after MSHA had issued delinquency notices. Its brief filing said the total penalty was a surprise and that the company had implemented corrective procedures, but it did not explain the missed contest deadlines or the later…
Tana S. Owens v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Owens v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 22-0141 BLA): automatic survivor benefits affirmed
Tana Owens sought survivor benefits after her husband, a coal miner, died while his benefits claim was pending. A judge later awarded benefits in the miner's claim, and another judge awarded his widow automatic survivor benefits. Clinchfield Coal argued that the survivor claim should wait until the…
Bryan A. Miller v. Lynden, Incorporated and ACE American Insurance Company
Miller v. Lynden (BRB 22-0126): attorney fee award affirmed
After Bryan Miller won Longshore Act benefits, his lawyer sought fees and costs for work before the administrative law judge. The judge awarded $44,004 in fees and $264 in costs, using a $500 hourly attorney rate and reducing 2.85 hours from the request. Counsel appealed the rate, time reduction…
Katakuri E. Muhereza v. Constellis Group/Triple Canopy, Incorporated and Starr Indemnity & Liability Company
Muhereza v. Constellis Group (BRB 22-0089): psychological claim remanded
Katakuri Muhereza sought Defense Base Act benefits for physical and psychological conditions after security work in Afghanistan. A judge denied the claims after finding Muhereza and some of his medical evidence unreliable. The Board held that the judge had wrongly weighed credibility when deciding…
Lonnie G. Holmes v. Leslie Haulers, Incorporated and Kentucky Employers' Mutual Insurance Company
Holmes v. Leslie Haulers (BRB 22-0040 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Lonnie Holmes established at least fifteen years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. A judge applied the fifteen-year presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis and found that Leslie Haulers had not rebutted it. The company argued that its physicians…
Gary D. Shelton v. Loftis Coal Company and Old Republic Insurance Company
Shelton v. Loftis Coal (BRB 21-0637 BLA): benefits denial affirmed
Gary Shelton filed another black lung benefits claim after earlier denials. A judge found 9.195 years of coal mine work and concluded the new evidence did not establish clinical or legal pneumoconiosis, which was needed to show a changed condition for the later claim. Shelton argued that the judge…
Eric J. Wignall v. Electric Boat Corporation
Wignall v. Electric Boat (BRB 21-0613): denial of neck-treatment benefits affirmed
Eric Wignall had an accepted lower-back injury from a 2007 workplace fall and sought Longshore Act medical benefits for later neck treatment. Benefits for related bowel and urinary symptoms were awarded and were not disputed on appeal. Wignall argued that years of walking bent over after back…
Stephen M. Hela v. Consol PA Coal Company and Consol Energy, Incorporated
Hela v. Consol PA Coal (BRB 21-0587 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Stephen Hela worked 13.70 years in coal mines, below the fifteen years needed for the statutory presumption. A judge found that he had legal pneumoconiosis and a totally disabling respiratory impairment caused by it. Consol PA Coal challenged the medical opinions because the objective studies did…
James D. Daugherty v. Long Pit Mining Company and United States Fidelity & Guaranty
Daugherty v. Long Pit Mining (BRB 21-0577 BLA): disability evidence remanded
James Daugherty, who had at least twenty-four years of qualifying coal mine work, appealed a denial of black lung benefits without a lawyer. The judge had found no totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board found that the judge used predicted values instead of actual measurements for two…
Pfeifer v. AM Retail Group, Inc.
SOX dismissal vacated as too severe
An administrative judge dismissed Crystal Pfeifer's SOX complaint after her counsel repeatedly filed amended complaints and summary-decision requests that did not comply with written and verbal directions. The Board agreed that counsel had committed procedural errors and should have requested leave…
M.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Fort Point Post Office, Boston, MA
Board affirms denial of postal clerk's back and hip claim (ECAB 22-1035)
A postal express mail clerk claimed a left hip and lower back condition after lifting and sorting heavy packages. OWCP accepted the described work factors but denied the claim for lack of medical evidence connecting them to the condition. The Board found that the physicians who examined him…
Y.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
Board reverses postal worker's $13,038.49 overpayment finding (ECAB 22-0969)
A postal worker elected federal retirement benefits effective July 4, 2021, while OWCP paid FECA wage loss compensation through November 6, 2021. OWCP found a $13,038.49 overpayment, but the retirement agency said it began payments on November 6, the same date OWCP stopped paying. The Board held…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Indianapolis, IN
Board affirms denial of postal worker's right shoulder claim (ECAB 22-0545)
A postal service mail handler claimed a right shoulder condition after work that included shifting forklift gears, lifting, carrying, and reaching overhead. OWCP converted the claim from a traumatic injury claim to an occupational disease claim but denied it because causal relationship was not…
D.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Air Marshal Service, Atlanta, GA
Board affirms denial of air marshal's hearing loss schedule award (ECAB 21-1374)
A federal air marshal with the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Air Marshal Service claimed bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus from jet engine and firearms noise. OWCP accepted the hearing loss claim but denied a schedule award after a medical adviser calculated zero percent monaural loss…
Cecil G. Dillow, Jr. v. Premium Energy, LLC and Brickstreet Mutual Insurance Company
Dillow v. Premium Energy (BRB 22-0335): Black Lung benefits award affirmed
Cecil Dillow sought Black Lung benefits after more than 30 years of coal mine work. The administrative law judge found that he had complicated pneumoconiosis and awarded benefits under the Act's irrebuttable presumption of total disability. His former employer and its insurer challenged the judge's…
R.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Duluth, GA
Board denies postal driver's COVID pay claims (ECAB 22-1323)
A postal tractor trailer operator with an accepted work-related COVID-19 injury sought continuation of pay and compensation for time off work. He filed the injury claim more than 30 days after the stated December 15, 2021 injury date, which defeated continuation of pay eligibility. For the separate…
B.P. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Grand Junction, CO
Board dismisses withdrawn land agency worker's appeal (ECAB 22-1274)
A Bureau of Land Management worker appealed a March 11, 2022 OWCP decision. The worker later asked to withdraw the appeal. The Board granted that request and dismissed the appeal. The order does not address the underlying compensation merits.
D.Q. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ
Board returns prison officer's knee claim for evidence review (ECAB 22-0528)
A federal prison lieutenant sought compensation for a right knee injury while responding to an institutional emergency. OWCP denied the claim and later denied his request for reconsideration. The Board found that OWCP had not considered or addressed two reports it received before that…
E.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Fordham Post Office, Bronx, NY
Board upholds postal carrier's benefit termination after suitable work refusal (ECAB 21-1275)
A postal city carrier with an accepted left shoulder injury declined a modified assignment involving driving, shuttling carriers, and delivering light packages. OWCP terminated her wage loss compensation and entitlement to a schedule award, finding that the job matched the restrictions from its…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Blue Island Post Office, Blue Island, IL
Board affirms denial of postal carrier's left arm blood clot claim (ECAB 21-0211)
A postal city carrier developed a deep vein thrombosis in her left arm and attributed it to holding mail on that arm while delivering her route. OWCP denied the occupational disease claim, and the Board affirmed. It found that one physician had not explained the work connection with enough medical…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
Board dismisses postal worker's appeal for lack of a timely OWCP decision (ECAB 23-0094)
A postal worker appealed what she described as an October 26, 2022 OWCP decision. The Board found that the October document was its own order in a different appeal, and that the most recent OWCP decision was dated January 19, 2022. Because no final adverse OWCP decision fell within 180 days of this…
L.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, San Ysidro, CA
Board affirms denial of border officer's disability claim (ECAB 22-0821)
A Customs and Border Protection officer had an accepted work-related acute stress reaction and anxiety disorder and sought compensation for time off from November 19, 2021 through January 6, 2022. The Board found that the work status reports stated she could not work but did not explain a causal…
V.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Mineral Wells Post Office, Mineral Wells, WV
Board returns postal carrier's shoulder recurrence claim for medical review (ECAB 21-1053)
A postal rural carrier with an accepted right shoulder injury sought compensation for renewed disability after returning to unrestricted work. Her surgeon attributed a recurrent rotator cuff tear and proposed surgery to the earlier injury. The Board found the surgeon's explanation too limited to…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Douglasville, GA
Board returns postal carrier's reconsideration request to OWCP (ECAB 20-0737)
A postal rural carrier with an accepted left ankle fracture sought review of a schedule award decision and also requested recognition of a right hip condition. The Board found that OWCP had addressed the hip claim instead of the timely request to reconsider the schedule award decision. It set aside…
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 4 and United States Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
IFPTE Local 4 and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (FLRA 0-AR-5842): untimely disparate-discipline grievance ruling left in place
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard suspended an employee for emailing a link to an inappropriate photograph, while a union president allegedly was not disciplined for later emailing the same image. An arbitrator found the union's disparate-treatment grievance untimely because the union knew of the…
Wanda J. Woodard, on behalf of Edward C. Woodard, v. Stone Mountain Trucking Company and Travelers
Woodard v. Stone Mountain Trucking (BRB 21-0533 and 21-0534): benefit denials remanded
Wanda Woodard pursued her late husband's Black Lung claim and her own survivor's claim. The administrative law judge denied both because she found he had not been totally disabled, although she credited him with 17.99 years of qualifying coal mine work. The Board upheld the findings that his last…
Wanda J. Woodard, on behalf of Edward C. Woodard, v. Stone Mountain Trucking Company and Travelers
Woodard v. Stone Mountain Trucking (BRB 21-0533 and 21-0534): benefit denials remanded
Wanda Woodard pursued her late husband's Black Lung claim and her own survivor's claim. The administrative law judge denied both because she found he had not been totally disabled, although she credited him with 17.99 years of qualifying coal mine work. The Board upheld the findings that his last…
David A. Ward v. Paramont Coal Corporation
Ward v. Paramont Coal (BRB 21-0481): subsequent Black Lung benefit award affirmed
David Ward filed a subsequent Black Lung claim after an earlier claim had been denied. The administrative law judge found that Ward had a totally disabling obstructive lung disease caused in part by coal mine dust exposure and awarded benefits. Paramont Coal challenged the finding that…
Michael J. Scopelliti v. UAE Coal Corporation and Rockwood Casualty Insurance Company
Scopelliti v. UAE Coal (BRB 21-0384): disability finding remanded
Michael Scopelliti sought Black Lung benefits after more than 22 years of qualifying coal mine work. The administrative law judge denied his claim because he found no totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board held that the judge improperly relied on a testing quality standard to reject a…
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.