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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G.A. and Department of the Air Force, Air Force Maintenance, Robins Air Force Base, GA
Board returns Air Force worker's chemical exposure claim for medical review (ECAB 21-1362)
An Air Force hazardous waste worker reported exposure to chemical fumes during a shift, followed by a seizure while driving home and a crash. OWCP accepted the workplace exposure but denied the claim partly because the crash happened after work and off the base. The Board held that the alleged…
R.B. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Victorville, Victorville, CA
Board sends prison employee's emotional condition claim back for medical review (ECAB 21-0962)
A Bureau of Prisons disciplinary hearing officer claimed an emotional condition linked to repeated intimidating and profane conduct by coworkers and management responses to it. The Board found that the repeated conduct and language created a hostile work environment that counted as a compensable…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Hudson Post Office, Hudson, WI
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's left wrist injury claim (ECAB 21-0803)
A rural carrier reported that his left wrist hurt after lifting a package while casing mail and later underwent wrist surgery. OWCP accepted the workplace incident but denied the injury claim. Two surgeons attributed a cartilage flap found during surgery to the incident, citing the onset of…
Henry S. Stevens v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Stevens v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 22-0154): Black Lung denial remanded
Henry Stevens sought Black Lung benefits after 15.96 years of underground coal mine work. The judge denied the claim after finding that he had not established total respiratory disability or pneumoconiosis. On Stevens's appeal, the Board found that the judge had not adequately assessed the validity…
Jimmie D. Wilson v. Fluor Corporation and Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania
Wilson v. Fluor (BRB 22-0059): Defense Base Act denial affirmed
Jimmie Wilson worked with jet fuel for Fluor in Afghanistan and later developed multiple myeloma. A prior Board decision found that his evidence was enough to invoke the statutory presumption of a work connection and returned the case to the judge. On remand, the judge found the employer rebutted…
Greta G. Privett, widow of Mert E. Privett, Sr. v. Itmann Coal Company
Privett v. Itmann Coal (BRB 22-0038): survivor's modified award affirmed
Greta Privett sought survivor's benefits after the death of her husband, Mert Privett, whose own Black Lung claim had been denied. The judge credited 21.58 years of underground work and a disabling respiratory impairment, invoking the statutory presumption that his death was due to pneumoconiosis…
Vester M. Lester v. C&R Coal Company, Incorporated and Old Republic Insurance Company
Lester v. C&R Coal (BRB 21-0550): Black Lung award affirmed
Vester Lester filed a later Black Lung claim after an earlier denial. The judge found at least 15 years of underground mine work and a disabling respiratory impairment, triggering the statutory presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. C&R Coal challenged its designation as the…
Robert Neal Salyer v. Cloverlick Coal Company, LLC and Brickstreet Mutual Insurance
Salyer v. Cloverlick Coal (BRB 21-0512): modified Black Lung award affirmed
Robert Salyer's Black Lung claim was initially denied because the judge found no totally disabling respiratory impairment. On modification, a second judge found that Salyer, who had at least 22 years of underground mine work, was disabled and thus qualified for the statutory presumption that his…
Ronald L. Dolan v. Leivasy Mining Corporation and West Virginia Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis Fund
Dolan v. Leivasy Mining (BRB 21-0277): complicated pneumoconiosis issue remanded
Ronald Dolan's widow continued his Black Lung claim after his death. The judge found simple pneumoconiosis but denied benefits because she found neither complicated pneumoconiosis nor a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board upheld the separate finding that total disability was not…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Nashville Main Office Window Post Office
Board orders employer response on postal employee stress claim (ECAB 23-1106)
A postal clerk claimed an emotional condition caused by harassment and bullying at work. OWCP sought information from him but did not request a response from the employer, which its procedures required for this type of claim. The Board set aside the claim denial and ordered OWCP to develop the…
E.A. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, Brownsville, TX
Board sends Border Patrol worker's COVID-19 pay claim back after injury date correction (ECAB 23-0199)
A Border Patrol employee claimed a COVID-19 infection from a workplace exposure and sought continuation of pay. OWCP denied the claim as untimely, using August 5, 2020 as the injury date. Before that denial, the employee had corrected the date to August 5, 2022, and the employing agency confirmed…
L.E. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Tucson, AZ
Board returns Border Patrol agent's vaccine injury claim for factual development (ECAB 22-1282)
A Customs and Border Protection agent reported shoulder and arm symptoms that he thought might have begun after a COVID-19 vaccination. OWCP changed the claimed injury date to the vaccination date and denied the claim because he had not shown that his employer provided or sponsored the vaccination…
D.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Cardiss Collins Processing & Distribution Center, Chicago, IL
Board upholds recovery of postal worker's $39,307.48 benefit overpayment (ECAB 22-0932)
A postal distribution clerk received FECA wage-loss benefits while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable to her federal service. OWCP found that the overlapping payments created a $39,307.48 overpayment between December 2017 and December 2020. The Board agreed with that…
T.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Rocky Mountain Regional Veterans Medical Center, Aurora, CO
Board upholds denial of nurse's continuation of pay for late COVID-19 claim (ECAB 22-0774)
A Veterans Affairs nurse reported frequent contact with patients and coworkers who had tested positive for COVID-19. She identified January 26, 2022 as her injury date but filed her injury form on March 11, 2022. OWCP denied continuation of pay because the filing was outside the 30 day period. The…
H.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Rayne Post Office, Rayne, LA
Board accepts postal worker's contusions but denies wage-loss claim (ECAB 22-0419)
A postal employee fell over boxes while carrying a parcel at work. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied his injury claim for lack of medical proof connecting the diagnosed conditions to it. The Board found that chest wall and rib contusions could be accepted as minor injuries…
K.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Ann, MO
Board returns postal worker's shoulder impairment claim for medical clarification (ECAB 21-0662)
A postal letter carrier with an accepted left shoulder injury had received a schedule award for 12 percent permanent impairment of his left upper extremity. He later sought a larger award. OWCP's medical adviser rated impairment at 12 percent but excluded an earlier clavicle condition from the…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Indio, CA
Board returns postal clerk's eye claim for a clearer cataract opinion (ECAB 21-0047)
A postal clerk reported that a leaking liquid splashed into his right eye at work. OWCP accepted visual discomfort, but the worker asked it to add a later diagnosed cataract and sought a schedule award. An OWCP second opinion physician said the current conditions were unrelated to the incident but…
James A. Davis v. Island Creek Coal Company
Davis v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 22-0240): Black Lung award affirmed
James Davis had 16.46 years of underground coal mine work and a disabling respiratory impairment, so the judge applied the statutory presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Island Creek Coal challenged only the finding that it had failed to rebut the presumption. Its doctors…
Charlie C. Parker v. JAZ Industries of Florida, LLC and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association, Ltd.
Parker v. JAZ Industries (BRB 21-0632): partial disability award affirmed
Charlie Parker injured his lower back while working as a refrigeration equipment mechanic in Norfolk. The judge found that he could not return to his usual job but that JAZ Industries had offered a lighter monitoring position within his physical limits. The Board upheld the finding that the…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. Macks USA, Inc.
H-1B benching award and owner liability affirmed
Macks USA sponsored Shaukat Jalal for H-1B computer-programming work but did not assign or pay him for extended periods, leaving him to find projects through another recruiter. The Board held that unpaid benching was a continuing violation through the end of his work authorization, making the…
E.M. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institute McDowell, Welch, WV
Board upholds denial of prison worker's continuation of pay after late filing (ECAB 22-1100)
A federal prison materials handler reported COVID-19 symptoms after handling an infected inmate's laundry and serving units housing infected inmates. OWCP accepted his COVID-19 claim but denied continuation of pay because he did not file the injury form within 30 days. He said illness…
L.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
Board directs OWCP to combine related postal worker injury files (ECAB 22-1097)
A postal employee filed a back condition claim while referring to earlier injury claims involving overlapping body parts. OWCP had denied the current claim as untimely and later refused to reopen it. The Board found that fair review required OWCP to combine the current file with three related claim…
S.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Juan, PR
Board upholds denial of postal worker's wrist injury claim (ECAB 22-1010)
A postal mail handler reported hand pain while moving a heavy parcel bag at a sorting machine. OWCP accepted that the September 2020 incident happened but denied her claim for a wrist condition. Her physician diagnosed carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis, citing repetitive work and medical…
K.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Trenton Processing & Distribution Center, Trenton, NJ
Board orders new impartial exam for postal worker's neck and shoulder claim (ECAB 21-1387)
A postal mail handler claimed that repetitive sorting work injured her neck and right shoulder. Her treating orthopedic surgeon linked those conditions to the work, while an impartial specialist attributed the findings to degeneration and disagreed that the work caused them. The Board found that…
C.S. and Department of the Army, Directorate of Emergency Services, Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, NY
Board upholds denial of Army police officer's schedule award (ECAB 21-1345)
An Army police officer injured his right knee and left biceps while apprehending a suspect. OWCP accepted those injuries, and he later sought a schedule award for permanent impairment of both limbs. His treating surgeon estimated impairment, but OWCP's medical adviser found that the surgeon had…
S.K. and Department of the Army, Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, NC
Board finds Army medical officer's occupational disease claim timely (ECAB 21-0592)
An Army medical officer alleged that heavy workload and short deadlines aggravated her depression. OWCP denied her occupational disease claim as late because she had connected the condition to work more than three years before filing. The Board found that she continued to be exposed to the cited…
E.K. and Department of the Navy, Fleet Readiness Center Southwest, San Diego, CA
Board seeks Navy employer's account of mechanic's knee injury location (ECAB 21-0436)
A Navy aircraft mechanic reported that his knee popped while he crossed a street returning from a break during his shift. OWCP denied his injury claim because the record did not establish that the incident occurred in the performance of duty. The Board found that it was unclear whether the street…
BMP International, Inc., IGas USA Inc., and Scales N Stuff, Inc.
In re BMP International, Inc., IGas USA Inc., and Scales N Stuff, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 23-03C): greenhouse-gas reporting settlement approved
BMP International, Inc., IGas USA, Inc., and Scales N Stuff, Inc., together with specified affiliated companies, were Florida corporations subject to EPA's greenhouse-gas reporting requirements. EPA alleged that BMP exceeded the 25,000 metric ton carbon-dioxide-equivalent import threshold in 2017…
M.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Edison, NJ
Board upholds denial of postal clerk's continuation of pay for late filing (ECAB 22-0720)
A postal clerk reported a workplace COVID-19 exposure on December 23, 2021 and later submitted positive test results. She filed her injury form on March 7, 2022 and sought continuation of pay. OWCP denied that pay benefit because the form came more than 30 days after the reported exposure. The…
C.B. and Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Jackson Resident Office, Jackson, MS
Board upholds denial of investigator's back injury claim (ECAB 22-0526)
A Labor Department criminal investigator reported back pain after unloading ammunition from a government vehicle. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his injury claim. A physician identified degenerative changes, scoliosis, and a disc herniation, and stated that the work incident…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Willow Grove, PA
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal carrier's terminated benefits claim (ECAB 21-1385)
OWCP had terminated a postal carrier's compensation and medical benefits after finding that his accepted injury no longer caused disability or residuals. He later asked OWCP to reconsider, submitting a previously reviewed medical report and his own objections to the second opinion examination. OWCP…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Reston, VA
Board upholds postal carrier's $20,248.94 benefit forfeiture and recovery (ECAB 21-1349)
A postal carrier received wage-loss compensation while also earning money as a rideshare driver and a retail cashier. The Board found that he knowingly failed to report the full extent of his work and earnings on the required form, which covered a 15 month period. It upheld forfeiture of…
M.H. and Department of the Interior, Canaveral National Seashore, Apollo Visitor Center, New Smyrna Beach, FL
Board upholds 31 percent left leg impairment rating for park worker (ECAB 21-1250)
A park maintenance mechanic injured his left knee at work, underwent knee replacement, and had an accepted lumbar condition affecting his leg. He had received schedule award compensation for 31 percent permanent impairment of the left leg and sought a higher rating. His physician calculated a…
C.W. and Department of the Navy, Cryptologic Warfare Group Six, Annapolis, MD
Board upholds Navy technician's benefit termination and insurance overpayment (ECAB 21-0943)
A Navy financial technician received benefits for an accepted knee contusion. OWCP suspended benefits after she missed two scheduled medical exams; the Board upheld that suspension because she did not document good cause for missing them. After she attended an exam, OWCP terminated benefits based…
L.R. and Department of Health & Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Baltimore, MD
Board upholds denial of expanded knee claim, surgery, and wage loss (ECAB 21-0018)
A federal information technology specialist fell while walking to her vehicle at work. OWCP accepted a left ankle sprain and left ilium fracture, but she sought acceptance of additional knee conditions, payment for right knee surgery, and wage loss for part of 2014. Her treating surgeon linked the…
United States Postal Service
Des Moines heat-hazard case remanded
OSHA cited the Postal Service under the General Duty Clause after two Des Moines letter carriers became ill while delivering mail in hot weather. The administrative law judge vacated the citation after finding that OSHA had not proved an excessive-heat hazard. The Commission reversed that finding…
United States Postal Service
Four heat-hazard citations vacated
OSHA issued General Duty Clause citations after letter carriers became ill while delivering mail during hot summer conditions in San Antonio, Benton, Houston, and Martinsburg. The Commission found that the environmental heat and the physical demands of the routes created a significant…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Silica
Staff-routing error supported reopening
U.S. Silica failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment within 30 days after delivery. The company said operations and staffing changes led a new administrative assistant to send the assessment to an interim manager at another office instead of following the proper process. U.S. Silica…
Teresa Allen, on behalf of and widow of Ricky Allen v. Consol of Kentucky, Incorporated
Allen v. Consol of Kentucky (BRB 22-0048 and 22-0049): attorney fee returned for review
Teresa Allen pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim. After benefits were awarded, the judge approved $13,553.30 in attorney fees and expenses, stating that the employer had filed no objections. Consol of Kentucky said it had submitted objections to the fee…
Teresa Allen, on behalf of and widow of Ricky Allen v. Consol of Kentucky, Incorporated
Allen v. Consol of Kentucky (BRB 22-0048 and 22-0049): attorney fee returned for review
Teresa Allen pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim. After benefits were awarded, the judge approved $13,553.30 in attorney fees and expenses, stating that the employer had filed no objections. Consol of Kentucky said it had submitted objections to the fee…
Johnny L. Ramey v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs
Ramey v. Director, OWCP (BRB 21-0614): road worker held outside black lung coverage
Johnny Ramey maintained public roads in Virginia that coal trucks used to travel between mines and preparation plants. A judge found that this made him a coal miner under the Black Lung Benefits Act, reversed the initial claim denial, and sent the case for further medical development. The Board…
N.J. Cantrell v. Chapperal Coal Corporation and Old Republic Insurance Company
Cantrell v. Chapperal Coal (BRB 21-0526): black lung benefits award affirmed
N.J. Cantrell filed a black lung claim after 10.5 years of coal mine work; his wife continued the claim after his death. The judge found that Cantrell's respiratory disability was due to legal pneumoconiosis and awarded benefits. Chapperal Coal disputed its designation as the responsible operator…
David L. Willis v. Eastern Associated Coal Corporation and Peabody Energy Corporation
Willis v. Eastern Associated Coal (BRB 21-0422): benefit denial sent back
David Willis sought black lung benefits after five years of coal mine work. The judge found that he had a totally disabling obstructive lung impairment but denied benefits because he had not proved that legal pneumoconiosis caused the disability. The Board found errors in how the judge assessed…
Hallie Marie Lewis, widow of George Lewis v. E & L Construction and Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance
Lewis v. E & L Construction (BRB 21-0309): survivor's benefit award affirmed
Hallie Lewis sought survivor's benefits after her husband George, a surface coal miner, died. On an earlier appeal, the Board upheld the finding that his nineteen years of surface work had conditions comparable to underground mining but sent the disability issue back. A new judge found reliable…
Donald Bentley v. Island Creek Coal Company
Bentley v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 21-0307): black lung benefits award affirmed
Donald Bentley sought black lung benefits on a new claim after an earlier claim was closed. The judge found that he was totally disabled by legal pneumoconiosis and awarded benefits. Island Creek Coal argued that the destruction of his decades-old claim file denied it a fair defense and that…
Jeffrey Lynn Pugh v. Dags Branch Coal Company, Incorporated and Kentucky Employers Mutual Insurance
Pugh v. Dags Branch Coal (BRB 21-0304): black lung benefits award affirmed
Jeffrey Pugh sought black lung benefits after twenty-nine years of qualifying coal mine work. The judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment and applied the fifteen-year presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis. Dags Branch Coal challenged the admission of one medical report, the…
Rodney E. Mullins v. Eastern Associated Coal LLC and Peabody Energy Corporation
Mullins v. Eastern Associated Coal (BRB 20-0477): benefit award sent back for study review
Rodney Mullins sought black lung benefits after seventeen years of underground coal mine work. The administrative law judge found that he was totally disabled by a respiratory impairment and awarded benefits under the fifteen-year presumption. The Board upheld the finding that Eastern Associated…
Raziano v. Albertsons, LLC
Attorney-fee settlement approved
Albertsons petitioned for review of an attorney-fee order in four consolidated STAA cases. The company later sought voluntary dismissal after the fee issues were resolved. Because a withdrawal based on settlement requires Board approval, the Board ordered either certification that no settlement…
D.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL
Board upholds denial of VA worker's continuation of pay after late claim (ECAB 22-0614)
A VA health aid technician reported a workplace COVID-19 exposure on October 17, 2021. She filed the injury form on November 30, explaining that illness and lack of knowledge of the deadline had delayed her. OWCP accepted her COVID-19 claim and paid wage-loss compensation for part of her absence…
T.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Concord Post Office, Concord, NH
Board orders combined review of postal clerk's left knee claims (ECAB 22-0287)
A postal clerk claimed that his work caused left knee osteoarthritis. OWCP denied the occupational disease claim after relying on an impartial medical opinion. The Board found that the record before it lacked the file for an earlier claimed left knee injury. Because proper review required the…
Link General Contracting Corp.
Scaffold access and fall-protection citations affirmed
Link General Contracting employees performed facade repairs from scaffold platforms at the fifth and sixth floors of a Brooklyn building. OSHA observed an employee using scaffold crossbracing and building formwork to move between platforms more than two feet apart. Employees also wore harnesses but…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, South Suburban Illinois Processing & Distribution Center, Bedford Park, IL
Board returns postal worker's shoulder impairment claim for full record review (ECAB 22-0127)
A postal mail handler sought a schedule award after an accepted right shoulder injury and surgery. She submitted a physician's report rating five percent permanent impairment of her right arm. The Board found that OWCP had not addressed that report in its denial. It also found that an earlier claim…
B.M. and Department of Housing & Urban Development, Oklahoma City, OK
Board says final OWCP overpayment decision cannot be reconsidered by OWCP (ECAB 22-0071)
OWCP made a final $9,830.45 overpayment determination for a Housing and Urban Development employee and denied a waiver. The employee later sent OWCP a reconsideration request with financial information. OWCP refused to consider it because its regulations allow review of a final overpayment…
J.U. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Salisbury, MD
Board upholds denial of postal custodian's schedule award (ECAB 21-1298)
A postal custodian sustained an accepted concussion and back abrasion after a fall at work, then sought a schedule award. One examiner found no lasting arm or leg impairment related to the incident. Another rated headaches and spinal symptoms as whole person impairment, but FECA's schedule award…
M.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Carol Stream Processing & Distribution Center, Carol Stream, IL
Board finds diagnoses established and returns postal worker's occupational claim (ECAB 21-0861)
A postal mail processing clerk claimed that manual sorting, standing, and walking at work aggravated several existing conditions. OWCP accepted the described work factors but denied the claim on the ground that no medical diagnosis had been established. The Board found that several treating…
Andrew B. Rwigyema v. Aegis Defense Services, LLC and Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania
Rwigyema v. Aegis Defense Services (BRB 21-0598): Defense Base Act claim denial affirmed
Andrew Rwigyema worked as a guard at Kandahar Air Force Base in Afghanistan and claimed several physical and psychological conditions related to that work. The judge denied his Defense Base Act claim after weighing his testimony and the medical evidence. The Board found that the judge had…
Ronald J. Barrow v. Sextet Mining Corporation and Frontier Insurance Company
Barrow v. Sextet Mining (BRB 21-0506): benefit denial sent back for disability review
Ronald Barrow sought black lung benefits after twenty-two years of qualifying coal mine work. The judge denied benefits because he found no totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board found that the judge had overlooked a blood gas study in Barrow's treatment records and had improperly…
Rene A. Fuentes v. Offshore Air and Refrigeration and Technology Insurance Company
Fuentes v. Offshore Air and Refrigeration (BRB 21-0427): injury claim denial affirmed
Rene Fuentes was found unresponsive while working on an offshore drilling platform and claimed injuries from a fall. The judge denied his Longshore Act claim after finding that the evidence did not prove a work-related injury. The Board majority held that the judge had asked too much of Fuentes at…
M.N. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Fort Lee, VA
Board orders impartial exam on Army officer's consequential knee claim (ECAB 22-0488)
An Army conservation law enforcement officer had an accepted left knee injury and later sought coverage for a right knee condition and another left knee replacement. His physician attributed the right knee condition to changes in gait and extra strain after the left knee injury, while OWCP's…
W.O. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Ogden, UT
Board upholds denial of Treasury clerk's fall claim without a medical diagnosis (ECAB 22-0418)
A computer clerk for the Internal Revenue Service reported striking her back when she fell onto a pallet while pushing a roll of paper at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied her injury claim. Her physician's note described the fall without diagnosing a condition or explaining…
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.