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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S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
Board upholds end of postal carrier's back injury benefits (ECAB 22-0277)
A postal carrier injured her lower back when a coworker pulled a stool from under her. OWCP accepted a lower back sprain and later ended wage-loss compensation and medical benefits. A second-opinion orthopedic surgeon found no remaining injury-related disability or residuals and said she could…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
Board upholds denial of mail handler's disputed July 2021 injury claim (ECAB 22-0159)
A mail handler assistant reported a left groin and leg injury from pulling mail containers. The Postal Service disputed whether she was at work on the alleged injury date. OWCP asked her for details about the incident, but she provided no completed questionnaire or further statement. The Board…
C.T. and Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service, Shreveport, LA
Board upholds denial of marshal's knee impairment award and hearing request (ECAB 22-0128)
A deputy marshal sought a schedule award after OWCP accepted a left knee injury sustained while running on a treadmill at work. He did not submit a medical evaluation showing maximum medical improvement or a permanent impairment rating. The Board affirmed the award denial for lack of that evidence…
K.S. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Tracy, CA
Board allows appointment time but denies remaining elbow disability claim (ECAB 21-1273)
A Defense Logistics Agency employee sought wage-loss compensation for April 9 and 10, 2021 after an accepted right elbow and shoulder injury. Her physician documented a medical appointment for the accepted condition during work hours on April 9. The Board held that she was entitled to up to four…
M.E. and Social Security Administration, Santurce, PR
Board reverses Social Security overpayment finding without proof of FERS coverage (ECAB 21-0624)
A Social Security Administration employee received FECA compensation and later Social Security retirement benefits. OWCP found a $55,859.74 overpayment using a calculation for workers enrolled in the Federal Employees Retirement System. The Board found that the record showed an earlier personnel…
Matter of Jorge Alberto DUARTE-GONZALEZ
Unlawful-presence bar does not require residence abroad
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent’s appeal from the denial of adjustment of status. It held that a noncitizen subject to the unlawful-presence inadmissibility period is not required to remain outside the United States during that period before seeking to overcome the bar. Because the…
Morton Salt, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Standalone POV-notice docket dismissed
MSHA issued Morton Salt a pattern-of-violations notice and later nine section 104(e) withdrawal orders. Morton contested the withdrawal orders and referenced the POV notice in each contest but acknowledged that it had not directly contested the notice itself. Under Commission precedent, a POV…
Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Mine-ID petition dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Cactus Canyon asked the Commission to compel MSHA to issue identification numbers for ten intermittent surface mines, framing its filing as a contest proceeding. The Judge held that Commission contest jurisdiction is limited to specified citations, orders, penalty assessments, abatement periods…
Michael H. Baldwin v. Eastern Associated Coal Company and Peabody Energy Corporation
Baldwin v. Eastern Associated Coal (BRB 22-0140): carrier liability affirmed
Michael Baldwin was awarded black lung benefits after the judge found complicated pneumoconiosis arising from his coal mine work. The employer and carrier did not challenge his entitlement on appeal. They argued instead that Peabody Energy's liability as Eastern Associated Coal's self-insurer had…
Joyce McKnight, on behalf of Thomas A. McKnight v. St. Charles Mining Company, Incorporated and Old Republic Insurance Company
McKnight v. St. Charles Mining (BRB 21-0399): operator liability restored
Joyce McKnight pursued a black lung claim on behalf of Thomas McKnight. A judge dismissed St. Charles Mining as the responsible operator and shifted any benefit liability to the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund without deciding whether the claim qualified for benefits. The Board reversed the…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Chicago Central Carrier Annex, Chicago, IL
Board upholds custodian's arm injury denial and reconsideration refusal (ECAB 22-1064)
A postal custodian reported left arm pain after lifting absorbent material from an oil spill at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the injury claim because the medical submissions did not establish a causal link. The Board found that the nurse practitioner's reports and unsigned hospital…
M.N. and U.S. Postal Service, West Warick Post Office, West Warwick, RI
Board returns postal supervisor's COVID-19 continuation-of-pay claim (ECAB 22-0728)
A postal supervisor sought continuation of pay after reporting workplace exposure to COVID-19 and a positive test. OWCP denied the request because she filed her injury form more than 30 days after the exposure date she reported. The Board held that OWCP had not applied its COVID-19 guidance, which…
K.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Everett, WA
Board upholds denial of postal worker's back condition claim (ECAB 22-0270)
A postal worker claimed that changes to her sorting station required more standing, bending, twisting, and reaching, aggravating her longstanding back problems. OWCP accepted the work factors but denied the claim. The Board found that her doctor's reports identified the new duties and expressed a…
J.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, New York Harbor Healthcare System, New York, NY
Board upholds denial of VA worker's pallet-related back claim (ECAB 22-0215)
A VA supply employee reported back pain after pushing a pallet away from a water leak. OWCP accepted the workplace incident but denied the injury claim. Two physicians attributed his lumbar condition to the incident, but the Board found that neither explained how pushing the pallet caused or…
R.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Wilmington VA Medical Center, Wilmington, DE
Board orders combined review of VA anesthetist's head injury claims (ECAB 22-0185)
A VA nurse anesthetist reported striking his head on suspended medical equipment while working. OWCP denied the traumatic injury claim and later denied his hearing request. The Board found that another claim file concerning a similar head condition was referenced in OWCP's decision but had not been…
A.A. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, John Wayne Airport, Costa Mesa, CA
Board restores FAA worker's right to an overpayment hearing (ECAB 21-0835)
An FAA air traffic control specialist was notified of a proposed $1,486.80 benefit overpayment after her dependent status changed. She asked for more time to submit the hearing request and financial form before the 30-day deadline, citing delayed mail delivery. OWCP never responded to that request…
B.W. and Department of the Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service, North Mississippi Refuges Complex, Grenada, MS
Board upholds denial of recurrent wrist disability claim (ECAB 21-0721)
A Fish and Wildlife Service employee had an accepted right wrist condition related to repetitive typing and writing. Years later she claimed a recurrence of disability and stopped work. Her physician said she could not work for a month, but did not connect the inability to work to the accepted…
R.C. and Department of the Army, Directorate of Public Works, Fort Polk, LA
Board returns Army worker's COVID-19 continuation-of-pay claim (ECAB 22-1216)
An Army quality assurance specialist sought continuation of pay after a COVID-19 illness that OWCP later accepted as work related. OWCP denied continuation of pay because he filed the claim form more than 30 days after the injury date he reported. The Board found that OWCP had failed to consider…
A.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Bloomington Postal Service, Bloomington, IL
Board dismisses appeal of its own decision and late reconsideration petition (ECAB 22-0923)
A postal employee filed an appeal from what she described as a July 2021 OWCP decision. That document was actually an earlier Board decision, and no final adverse OWCP decision had been issued within the Board's 180-day appeal period. The Board dismissed the new appeal for lack of jurisdiction. It…
P.C. and U.S. Postal Service, North Richland Hills Branch, Fort Worth, TX
Board requires combined shoulder records before schedule award ruling (ECAB 22-0534)
A postal carrier sought a schedule award for an accepted right shoulder injury. OWCP denied the award because earlier right shoulder awards allegedly exceeded the impairment found in this claim. The Board found that the records supporting those earlier awards were absent from the file under review…
M.H. and Department of the Army, Fort Shafter, Honolulu, HI
Board orders combined review of Army nurse's workplace exposure claims (ECAB 22-0413)
An Army nurse claimed symptoms from workplace construction, poor ventilation, and possible mold exposure. OWCP denied the new claim, and a hearing representative directed it to combine an earlier accepted exposure claim before deciding again. OWCP did not combine the files and denied the claim a…
A.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Fairhope Post Office, Fairhope, AL
Board upholds postal carrier's reduced wage-loss benefits (ECAB 22-0119)
A rural carrier associate received wage-loss benefits after an accepted left ankle injury. OWCP reduced her benefits using the wages of a constructed secretary position. The Board found that the sedentary job fit the physical restrictions from a second-opinion examination and was reasonably…
B.M. and Department of Defense, Defense Logicstics Agency, Distribution Regional Center, Albany, GA
Board finds shoulder claim reconsideration request timely (ECAB 21-1366)
A Defense Logistics Agency worker sought reconsideration of a denied shoulder injury claim. OWCP treated her request as late and applied the stricter clear-evidence-of-error test. The Board found that OWCP received the request exactly one year after its last merit decision, within the filing…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, San Jose, CA
Board upholds abandonment of postal driver's telephonic hearing (ECAB 21-0595)
A postal truck driver requested a hearing after OWCP denied his back injury claim. OWCP mailed notice of a telephonic hearing, but its record showed that he did not appear or request another hearing within 10 days. The worker said on appeal that he joined the call and was disconnected. The Board…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858 and United States Department of the Army, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama
AFGE Local 1858 and Army Redstone Arsenal (FLRA 0-AR-5847): Authority denies challenge to arbitration award
AFGE Local 1858 challenged an arbitration award involving the Army's Redstone Arsenal. The Authority issued an expedited, abbreviated decision, so the public release does not describe the underlying dispute or the Union's specific argument. After reviewing the record and its precedent, the…
National Treasury Employees Union and United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service
NTEU and USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FLRA 0-AR-5804): Authority upholds bargaining-ground-rules award
USDA's Food and Nutrition Service proposed changes to its performance-appraisal system and awards program while negotiating a successor agreement with NTEU. An arbitrator found that the agency violated the agreement and committed an unfair labor practice by notifying the wrong Union official, but…
Secretary of Labor v. Rockwell Mining, LLC
Receptionist error supported reopening
Rockwell Mining failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment within 30 days. A new office manager receptionist received the assessment but did not provide it to the corporate safety director for more than two months. Rockwell said its normal procedure required assessments to be scanned and sent…
Secretary of Labor v. Miller Contracting Services, Inc.
Lost contest supported reopening
Miller Contracting Services said it mailed a penalty contest packet, but MSHA did not receive it. An internal miscommunication caused the company to send the packet without certified-mail tracking, and Miller learned of the problem only after receiving a delinquency notice. The company then updated…
Secretary of Labor v. Specialty Vermiculite, LLC
Mine shutdown disruption supported reopening
Specialty Vermiculite failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment within 30 days. The company said its Enoree Operations mine had ceased operations, most employees had been laid off, and COVID illnesses added to confusion among the remaining staff. The employee responsible for contests worked…
Secretary of Labor v. Iron Cumberland, LLC
Management transition supported reopening
Iron Cumberland failed to contest two proposed penalty assessments within 30 days. The mine changed ownership and management near the end of 2021, including hiring a new safety director, and the transition altered internal processing procedures. Iron Cumberland learned of the missed assessments…
Matter of J- L- L-
Pre-1996 Form I-122 proceedings are outside the Niz-Chavez rule
The Board reviewed an applicant’s motion to reopen a removal case that had been initiated with a Form I-122 before the effective date of the 1996 immigration amendments. It held that the Supreme Court’s decisions concerning notices to appear and the stop-time rule do not apply to those earlier…
Miles Sparkman v. Whitaker Coal Corporation
Sparkman v. Whitaker Coal (BRB 22-0275): black lung benefits award affirmed
Miles Sparkman filed a new black lung claim after earlier denials. The judge found at least fifteen years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment, which triggered the statutory presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis. Whitaker Coal challenged the finding…
J.M. and Social Security Administration, Baltimore, MD
Board upholds refusal to reopen Social Security worker's late benefit challenge (ECAB 22-0630)
A Social Security Administration worker challenged OWCP's earlier termination of benefits for accepted carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP had misaddressed a 2016 decision, resent it in 2017, and treated a subsequent 2017 reconsideration request as timely. Her later request, received in 2021, was beyond a…
J.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Alvin C. York Campus, Murfreesboro, TN
Board upholds denial of continuation of pay after late injury form (ECAB 22-0318)
A VA motor vehicle operator injured his left shoulder while lifting a container at work. OWCP accepted the shoulder strain but denied continuation of pay because he filed his injury form on November 29, more than 30 days after the October 25 incident. The Board affirmed the continuation-of-pay…
B.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bozeman, MT
Board requires timely review of postal worker's elbow claim (ECAB 22-0283)
A postal worker sought reconsideration after OWCP denied his left elbow injury claim. OWCP measured the one-year filing period from an earlier denial and treated his request as late. The Board found that a later hearing representative's merit decision started a new one-year period and that his…
M.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, RI
Board reverses wage-loss reduction based on unclear job restriction (ECAB 22-0258)
A VA medical support assistant received wage-loss compensation for an accepted post-traumatic stress condition after a patient threatened her. OWCP reduced the benefit based on a constructed administrative assistant position. Her psychologist had restricted direct patient contact and later said she…
L.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Southeast Post Office, Burton, MI
Board upholds denial of recurrent disability after accepted mail-rack injury (ECAB 22-0188)
A rural carrier had accepted neck, shoulder, and back conditions after a rack of mail fell on her. She later stopped work and claimed a recurrence of disability. OWCP found the treating, second-opinion, and impartial medical reports unreliable for different reasons and asked for further evidence…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Richmond, VA
Board upholds denial of mail carrier's collision injury claim (ECAB 21-1309)
A rural mail carrier's delivery truck was rear-ended while he was working. OWCP accepted the collision but denied his claim for shoulder, neck, and back conditions. The Board found that the physicians' reports did not give a sufficiently reasoned explanation linking the diagnosed conditions to the…
T.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Greater Newark Processing and Distribution Center, Kearny, NJ
Board declines to expand postal worker's accepted back injury (ECAB 21-0871)
A mail handler had an accepted lumbar sprain after lifting a heavy package. She sought to add disc, nerve, and other lumbar conditions to the claim. The Board found that her physician attributed symptoms to the work event without explaining how the additional conditions arose. It credited a…
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC
Fourteen-citation settlement approved
The settlement resolved fourteen citations at Appalachian Resource's Grapevine South Surface Mine and reduced penalties from $18,550 to $11,000. Three associated section 104(b) withdrawal orders were vacated, three citations were changed from low to no negligence, and one citation was changed from…
Bruce N. Arp v. Peabody New Mexico Services
Arp v. Peabody New Mexico Services (BRB 21-0464): benefits and fee awards affirmed
Bruce Arp sought black lung benefits after twenty-five years of qualifying surface coal mine work. The judge found total respiratory disability, applied the fifteen-year presumption, and awarded benefits. Peabody New Mexico Services challenged the work-history and medical findings. The Board upheld…
Rondal R. Cosby v. T and T Fuels, Incorporated and Kentucky Employers Mutual Insurance
Cosby v. T and T Fuels (BRB 21-0562): black lung benefits award affirmed
Rondal Cosby sought black lung benefits after nearly twenty years of surface coal mine work. An earlier judge denied benefits, but the Board sent the claim back for a fuller review of the work conditions and disability evidence. On remand, a new judge found that Cosby's surface work was comparable…
Bruce N. Arp v. Peabody New Mexico Services
Arp v. Peabody New Mexico Services (BRB 21-0464): benefits and fee awards affirmed
Bruce Arp sought black lung benefits after twenty-five years of qualifying surface coal mine work. The judge found total respiratory disability, applied the fifteen-year presumption, and awarded benefits. Peabody New Mexico Services challenged the work-history and medical findings. The Board upheld…
Ernest L. Nelson, Jr. v. Day, LLC and Encova Insurance
Nelson v. Day, LLC (BRB 21-0421): benefit award upheld with later start date
Ernest Nelson sought black lung benefits on a subsequent claim. After an earlier Board remand, the judge found fewer than fifteen years of coal mine work, so the statutory fifteen-year presumption did not apply. He nevertheless awarded benefits after finding that Nelson's disabling lung condition…
A.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Port of Entry, Savannah, GA
Board returns border officer's COVID-19 continuation-of-pay claim (ECAB 22-0757)
A Customs and Border Protection employee sought continuation of pay after a positive COVID-19 test. OWCP denied it because the injury form was filed more than 30 days after the exposure date stated on the form. The Board found that OWCP had not considered its guidance using the last workplace…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Milwaukee Processing & Distribution Center, Milwaukee, WI
Board upholds denial of mail handler's cervical disc claim (ECAB 22-0504)
A mail handler claimed that repetitive lifting and carrying aggravated cervical disc disease. OWCP accepted her description of the work but denied the medical claim. One surgeon did not distinguish the effects of aging and natural degeneration from any work-related aggravation. Another did not…
R.G., claiming for the children of K.G., and U.S. Postal Service, Michigan Metroplex Processing & Distribution Center, Pontiac, MI
Board orders more methane-alarm evidence in postal survivor claim (ECAB 22-0288)
A parent sought survivor benefits for the children of a postal employee who died after an asthma attack at work. She alleged workplace methane exposure. The Board found that OWCP had not obtained the dates and readings for methane detection alarms around the time of the employee's death, so it…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, South Suburban Processing & Distribution Center, Bedford Park, IL
Board requires combined review of postal driver's knee claims (ECAB 22-0252)
A postal tractor trailer operator claimed that repeated climbing, squatting, and bending at work caused left knee osteoarthritis. OWCP denied the claim even though it had accepted a separate left knee sprain claim. The Board found that proper review required both knee claim files together. It set…
I.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Bushwick Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
Board upholds initial ankle claim denial but orders reconsideration (ECAB 21-1356)
A postal carrier claimed an ankle injury during an encounter with a customer at work. The employer disputed physical contact, and the Board found that the record before OWCP's first decision did not establish the alleged incident. The worker later gave a more detailed account of physical contact…
A.P. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex Coleman, Coleman, FL
Board confirms late reconsideration but requires reasons for refusal (ECAB 21-1222)
A correctional officer sought to add shoulder and ankle conditions to an accepted injury claim. His request for reconsideration arrived more than one year after OWCP's last merit decision, so the Board agreed that it was late. But OWCP did not address the medical reports submitted after that…
R.B. and Department of the Army, Rock Island Arsenal Garrison, Rock Island, IL
Board recognizes work factors in Army detective's stress claim (ECAB 21-0643)
An Army detective claimed a stress-related condition after assisting with the recovery of a deceased person and experiencing changes to his job classification and retirement coverage. OWCP found no compensable work factor and denied the claim without evaluating the medical evidence. The Board held…
National Treasury Employees Union
NTEU petition to amend FLRA policy-statement rule (FLRA 0-MC-0034): Authority preserves broad request access
NTEU asked the Authority to limit which lawful associations may request general policy statements by restricting the rule to associations made up of and serving federal employees. The Authority found that the rule's wording and regulatory history instead showed an intent to allow broad access…
Omar Multhino Villanueva Zuniga v. Triple Canopy, Incorporated and Continental Insurance Company
Villanueva Zuniga v. Triple Canopy (BRB 21-0629): hearing claim allowed, psychological claim denied
Omar Villanueva Zuniga worked as a security guard in Iraq and sought Defense Base Act benefits for hearing loss and a psychological condition. The judge denied both claims. The Board held that his hearing test and account of work noise were enough to invoke the statutory causation presumption and…
A.D. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Secret Service, Washington, DC
Board dismisses appeal from its own Secret Service case decision (ECAB 22-0416)
A Secret Service employee appealed what she described as a January 2022 OWCP decision. The cited document was a Board decision, while the latest adverse OWCP decision was more than 180 days before this appeal. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. It said that any timely petition…
E.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Delaware Processing and Distribution Center, Wilmington, DE
Board reverses termination of postal worker's knee injury wage-loss benefits (ECAB 22-0241)
A mail handler received wage-loss compensation after an accepted right knee injury. OWCP ended the benefit after surveillance video led her treating physician to change his work-capacity assessment. The Board found that she had a reasonable chance to review the video, but the physician's form did…
D.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, Columbia, SC
Board upholds refusal to reopen VA nurse's schedule award claim (ECAB 22-0111)
A VA nurse sought a schedule award after an accepted acute bronchospasm claim. OWCP denied the award, and a hearing representative affirmed that denial. The nurse's later reconsideration request resubmitted a physician report already in the record and offered no new legal argument. The Board…
H.C. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Weslaco Border Patrol Station, Weslaco, TX
Board upholds denial of hearing-loss schedule award (ECAB 21-1187)
A border patrol agent had accepted work-related hearing loss and tinnitus after years of firearms, vehicle, and equipment noise. An OWCP medical adviser calculated zero percent ratable loss in each ear under the applicable hearing tables. The Board agreed that the accepted hearing loss did not…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Oklahoma Westside Carrier Annex, Oklahoma City, OK
Board upholds denial of later wage loss after accepted back injury (ECAB 21-0930)
A rural carrier had an accepted back injury and later sought wage-loss compensation for a period beginning November 30, 2020. He had previously worked in a modified position but had resigned months before the claimed period. His medical reports described diagnoses, restrictions, and intermittent…
P.B. and Social Security Administration, District Office, Brooklyn, NY
Board upholds termination of benefits after accepted conditions resolved (ECAB 21-0894)
A Social Security claims representative received benefits for injuries from a 2008 fall at work. OWCP later terminated wage-loss compensation and medical benefits, relying on a second-opinion orthopedic examination that found her accepted conditions had resolved. The Board found that examination…
B.C. and Department of the Navy, Alameda Naval Air Station, CA
Board reverses benefit termination based on incomplete injury record (ECAB 20-1672)
A former Navy computer operator received benefits for conditions accepted after a 1983 work injury, including cervical conditions added later. OWCP terminated her wage-loss compensation and medical benefits after a second-opinion physician found no remaining injury-related disability. The physician…
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.