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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Emma Rayetta Bartley, on behalf of and widow of Jerry W. Bartley, v. Harman Mining Corporation and Arrowpoint Capital Corporation
Bartley v. Harman Mining Corporation (BRB 21-0497 and 21-0498 BLA): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Emma Rayetta Bartley pursued her late husband's subsequent black lung claim and her own survivor claim. The administrative law judge found more than fifteen years of qualifying coal mine employment, total respiratory disability, and entitlement to the statutory presumption that the miner's…
Larry D. Honaker v. Eastern Associated Coal, LLC and Peabody Energy Corporation
Honaker v. Eastern Associated Coal (BRB 20-0464): Black Lung benefits award affirmed
Larry Honaker sought Black Lung benefits after twenty-five years of qualifying coal mine work. The judge found that exercise blood gas studies showed a totally disabling respiratory impairment, triggering the statutory presumption that pneumoconiosis caused his disability. The Board upheld that…
Jesse H. King v. Eastern Associated Coal LLC and Peabody Energy Corporation
King v. Eastern Associated Coal (BRB 20-0269): Black Lung benefits award affirmed
Jesse King sought Black Lung benefits after more than fifteen years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Those findings triggered the statutory presumption that pneumoconiosis caused his disability. The Board upheld the judge's finding that Eastern Associated…
F.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Edward Hines VA Medical Center, Hines, IL
Board upholds denial of VA nurse's shoulder injury claim (ECAB 22-1122)
A VA nurse felt left shoulder and arm soreness while helping move a patient in bed. OWCP accepted the incident but denied her injury claim. The Board found that her physician listed diagnoses and connected them to the incident without explaining how the movement caused them. It affirmed the denial…
C.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Memphis Network Distribution Center, Memphis, TN
Board requires fuller explanation of postal worker's reconsideration denial (ECAB 22-0896)
A postal equipment operator claimed a low back injury from years of forklift work and handling heavy packages. OWCP denied the claim and later rejected his reconsideration request as untimely and insufficient to show clear error. The Board found that OWCP did not discuss the medical reports…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Uhrichsville, OH
Board upholds postal worker's overpayment and recovery deductions (ECAB 22-0815)
A postal worker received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable in part to federal service over the same period. The Board upheld OWCP's $13,880.29 overpayment calculation and found him without fault. His income exceeded ordinary necessary expenses, and he…
M.T. and Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health Service, Aberdeen, SD
Board upholds denial of technician's shoulder injury claim (ECAB 22-0744)
An Indian Health Service radiology technician hurt her right arm and shoulder while helping a dizzy patient onto an examination table. OWCP accepted that the event occurred but denied the claimed medical condition. The Board found that her physician either gave no causal opinion or failed to…
M.D. and Department of the Army, Sierra Army Depot, Herlong, CA
Board upholds Army worker's overpayment recovery (ECAB 22-0694)
An Army depot packer received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits partly attributable to federal service during overlapping periods. The Board upheld OWCP's $16,438.19 overpayment calculation and found her without fault. Her monthly income exceeded necessary expenses…
K.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
Board returns VA technician's COVID pay claim for correct date rule (ECAB 22-0552)
A VA radiology technician claimed COVID 19 acquired at work and requested continuation of pay. OWCP denied that pay because it counted her injury notice as filed more than 30 days after the stated injury date. The Board found that OWCP had not applied its COVID guidance, which treats the last…
C.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
Board rejects additional right shoulder condition in postal claim (ECAB 22-0013)
A postal distribution clerk had accepted left shoulder injuries from handling heavy mail bundles. She sought to add a right shoulder condition, saying she overused that arm to compensate. The Board found that one doctor did not explain how the left injury caused the right condition and another…
S.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Allentown, PA
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's disability recurrence claim (ECAB 21-0380)
A postal carrier with an accepted back injury claimed renewed disability in May and October 2019. The Board found that her modified position remained within earlier work restrictions and had not been withdrawn. Her doctor's reports did not establish that the accepted injury disabled her from that…
I.J. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
Board recognizes shipyard electrician's claimed work duties (ECAB 20-0599)
A Navy shipyard electrician said lifting materials, pulling cables, and setting up a pump injured his back. OWCP denied his occupational disease claim. The Board found his account consistent with his job description and his supervisor's statement. It accepted the described work factors, set aside…
C.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Los Gatos Dell Station, Campbell, CA
Board orders impartial rating of postal carrier's right leg impairment (ECAB 20-0316)
A postal carrier sought a greater right leg schedule award after accepted ankle and knee conditions. His physician and OWCP's medical adviser disagreed about whether to rate the knee using range of motion or a diagnosis based method. The Board found their opinions in conflict and set aside OWCP's…
Cleatis Cline v. Mingo Logan Coal Company
Cline v. Mingo Logan Coal (BRB 21-0517 BLA and 21-0431 BLA): Benefits and attorney fee affirmed
Cleatis Cline was awarded black lung benefits after a judge found complicated pneumoconiosis arising from his coal mine employment. The Board had previously upheld his entitlement but sent the case back to determine which operator would pay. Mingo Logan argued that a later employer should be…
Cleatis Cline v. Mingo Logan Coal Company
Cline v. Mingo Logan Coal (BRB 21-0431 BLA and 21-0517 BLA): Benefits and attorney fee affirmed
Cleatis Cline was awarded black lung benefits after a judge found complicated pneumoconiosis arising from his coal mine employment. The Board had previously upheld his entitlement but sent the case back to determine which operator would pay. Mingo Logan argued that a later employer should be…
Frieda F. Harman v. Eastern Associated Company, LLC
Harman v. Eastern Associated Company (BRB 21-0284 BLA and 21-0283 BLA): Miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Frieda Harman pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim after his twenty-eight years of underground coal mine employment. His disabling respiratory impairment triggered the statutory presumption that pneumoconiosis caused the disability. Eastern Associated Company…
Frieda F. Harman v. Eastern Associated Company, LLC
Harman v. Eastern Associated Company (BRB 21-0283 BLA and 21-0284 BLA): Miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Frieda Harman pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim after his twenty-eight years of underground coal mine employment. His disabling respiratory impairment triggered the statutory presumption that pneumoconiosis caused the disability. Eastern Associated Company…
Phillip Michael Cline v. Hanover Resources, LLC
Cline v. Hanover Resources (BRB 20-0260 BLA): Operator liability remanded
Phillip Cline received a black lung benefits award after working for Hanover Resources and then DB Coal Mining. The judge assigned liability to Hanover after excluding Cline's later work managing an idle mine from coal mine employment. The Board held that work maintaining an open mine for future…
C.T. and Department of the Air Force, Joint Base Andrews Air Force Base, MD
Board dismisses Air Force worker's late appeal (ECAB 23-0127)
C.T. appealed OWCP's March 8, 2022 decision on November 2, 2022, after the September 4, 2022 deadline. The worker provided no documented compelling explanation for the delay. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and did not decide the underlying claim.
D.M. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Fresno, CA
Board dismisses IRS worker's late appeal (ECAB 23-0121)
D.M. appealed OWCP's April 22, 2022 decision on November 2, 2022, after the October 19, 2022 deadline. The worker provided no documented compelling explanation for the delay. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and did not decide the underlying claim.
S.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Olin E. Teague Veterans’ Medical Center, Temple, TX
Board dismisses VA worker's late appeal (ECAB 23-0104)
S.T. appealed OWCP's November 24, 2021 decision on October 25, 2022, after the May 23, 2022 deadline. The worker provided no documented compelling explanation for the delay. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and did not decide the underlying claim.
P.D. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station Mirimar, San Diego, CA
Board dismisses Navy worker's late appeal (ECAB 23-0100)
P.D. appealed OWCP's March 28, 2022 decision on October 24, 2022, after the September 24, 2022 deadline. The worker provided no documented compelling explanation for the delay. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and did not decide the underlying claim.
M.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Detroit Processing & Distribution Center, Detroit, MI
Board dismisses Detroit postal worker's late appeal (ECAB 23-0072)
M.A. appealed OWCP's April 18, 2022 decision on October 18, 2022, after the October 15, 2022 deadline. The worker provided no documented compelling explanation for the delay. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and did not decide the underlying claim.
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Clemente, CA
Board dismisses San Clemente postal worker's late appeal (ECAB 23-0069)
A postal worker appealed OWCP's March 30, 2022 merits decision on October 6, after the September 26 deadline. He gave no documented compelling explanation for the late filing. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and did not reach the merits.
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, San Francisco Processing & Distribution Center, San Francisco, CA
Board dismisses San Francisco postal worker's late appeal (ECAB 23-0066)
A postal worker appealed OWCP's November 3, 2020 merits decision on October 18, 2022, after the May 2, 2021 deadline. He provided no documented compelling explanation for the delay. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction without reviewing the claim.
R.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Coatesville VA Medical Center, Coatesville, PA
Board dismisses VA employee's late appeal (ECAB 23-0065)
A VA medical center employee appealed OWCP's April 11, 2022 decision on October 17, after the October 8 deadline. He provided no documented compelling explanation for filing late. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and did not review the underlying claim.
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
Board dismisses Cleveland postal worker's late appeal (ECAB 23-0064)
A postal worker appealed OWCP's April 5, 2022 merits decision on October 17, after the October 2 deadline. She did not document compelling circumstances for the late filing. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction without reaching the merits.
S.H. and Department of the Navy, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Millington, TN
Board dismisses Navy employee's late appeal (ECAB 23-0059)
A Navy employee appealed OWCP's January 23, 2020 nonmerit decision on October 19, 2022, well after the July 21, 2020 deadline. She gave no documented compelling explanation for the delay. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and did not review the claim.
Y.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oakland, CA
Board dismisses Oakland postal worker's late appeal (ECAB 23-0058)
A postal worker appealed OWCP's March 14, 2022 nonmerit decision on October 20, after the September 10 deadline for a Board appeal. She gave no documented compelling explanation for the delay. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and did not reach the underlying claim.
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Shaker Heights, OH
Board grants postal worker's request to dismiss appeal (ECAB 23-0032)
A postal worker appealed OWCP's September 28, 2022 merits decision. His attorney then asked the Board to dismiss the appeal. The Board granted that request and dismissed the appeal without deciding the underlying claim.
I.S. and U.S. Postal Service, New York International Service Center, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, NY
Board upholds postal worker's 26 percent left leg award (ECAB 22-0922)
A postal mail handler sought a larger schedule award for an accepted left knee injury. Her physician initially proposed a combined 38 percent rating for meniscal damage and arthritis. OWCP's medical adviser rated the most impairing diagnosis, knee arthritis, at 26 percent, and her physician later…
L.P. and Department of the Air Force, Sheppard Air Force Base, TX
Board upholds Air Force worker's left leg impairment rating (ECAB 21-0282)
A former Air Force office clerk sought an additional schedule award for an accepted left knee injury. Her physician estimated 22 percent impairment, while OWCP's medical adviser rated 12 percent under the diagnosis based method. The Board found that the adviser correctly applied the impairment…
Charles Hayse, Jr. v. Heritage Coal Company
Hayse v. Heritage Coal (BRB 21-0570 BLA): Benefits denial affirmed
Charles Hayse sought black lung benefits after working as a belt line shoveler in coal mines. The judge found that he had not proved a totally disabling respiratory impairment and denied the claim. The Board upheld the judge's finding that the pulmonary function studies were unreliable, including…
M.P., widow of E.P., and Department of Justice, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Washington, DC
Board orders medical development of ATF investigator's death claim (ECAB 22-0832)
The widow of a former ATF investigator sought survivor benefits after his death, alleging that an accepted 1973 gunshot injury contributed to it. Her doctor reported a connection, but OWCP denied the claim without first advising her what further evidence was needed. The Board directed OWCP to…
G.D. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Broadview, IL
Board upholds denial of ICE officer's vehicle collision injury claim (ECAB 22-0555)
An ICE officer reported neck and back injuries after another vehicle struck his driver's side door during work. OWCP accepted the collision but denied the medical claim. The only diagnosis of whiplash was on a form with an illegible signature, so the Board could not establish that a physician…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Market Street Post Office, St. Louis, MO
Board upholds denial of postal clerk's shoulder injury claim (ECAB 22-0554)
A postal distribution clerk fell after tripping over a container latch at work and sought recognition of a right shoulder condition. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the medical claim. The Board found that her doctor's reports repeated her belief about the injury without giving an independent…
D.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Oakdale Post Office, Charlotte, NC
Board orders combined review of postal clerk's head and neck claims (ECAB 22-0531)
A postal mail processing clerk sought to add right arm conditions to an accepted neck injury claim. OWCP had separate files for earlier and later head and neck injuries, but had not reviewed them together when it obtained a second medical opinion. The Board held that those related files must be…
W.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fayetteville, NC
Board finds postal worker's reconsideration request timely (ECAB 22-0398)
A postal worker sought reconsideration of OWCP's July 10, 2020 termination of benefits for refusing suitable work. OWCP treated her July 11, 2021 request as late and applied its strict clear error standard. The Board found that the one year deadline fell on Saturday, July 10, 2021, so it extended…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greensboro, NC
Board upholds denial of carrier's emotional condition claim (ECAB 22-0079)
A postal delivery specialist reported stress and physical symptoms arising from disputes about leave, pay, and work availability after a COVID childcare absence. The Board treated the asserted events as administrative or personnel matters. It found no proven employer error or abuse that would make…
A.D. and Department of State, Bureau of European & Eurasian Affairs, Washington, DC
Board orders impartial exam for State Department stress claim (ECAB 20-1265)
A State Department press officer claimed that prolonged high pressure work aggravated Cushing's syndrome and delayed her recovery after adrenal surgery. OWCP's referral doctor attributed the condition to an adrenal tumor, while her doctors linked aggravation and recovery problems to work stress…
Matter of CORONADO ACEVEDO
Limited circumstances can support termination of removal proceedings
The Attorney General reviewed the Board’s decision concerning whether immigration adjudicators may terminate or dismiss removal proceedings. The Attorney General overruled Matter of S-O-G- & F-D-B- and held that, pending rulemaking, Immigration Judges and the Board may consider termination in…
Robert T. Buggey v. Helvetia Coal Company
Buggey v. Helvetia Coal (BRB 21-0448 BLA): Benefits award on modification affirmed
Robert Buggey sought to reopen a denial of black lung benefits after thirty-two years of underground coal mine employment. New lung function tests and a doctor's opinion led a judge to find that his respiratory impairment prevented his usual heavy mine work. Helvetia Coal argued that a later test…
M.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Soundview Station Post Office, Bronx, NY
Board upholds postal carrier's five percent arm impairment rating (ECAB 22-0685)
A postal carrier sought a larger schedule award for accepted left shoulder conditions. His doctor rated three or four percent impairment using two methods. OWCP's medical adviser applied the diagnosis based method and rated five percent, higher than the range of motion result. The Board found no…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Reno, NV
Board upholds denial of renewed back treatment for postal carrier (ECAB 22-0322)
A retired postal carrier sought renewed treatment for back pain under an accepted 2002 injury claim. His doctor recorded a more recent fall over sagebrush before the pain increased. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately link the renewed need for treatment to the accepted work…
D.R. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Philadelphia, PA
Board splits fault finding for IRS worker's overpayment (ECAB 21-0234)
An IRS customer service representative kept receiving FECA wage loss payments after returning to full time work in March 2015. The Board upheld OWCP's $2,694.40 overpayment calculation. It found her without fault for the first erroneous deposit, covering March 10 through April 4, because the record…
O.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Miami, FL
Board upholds denial of TSA officer's lumbar injury claim (ECAB 20-1518)
A TSA security officer sought to connect a lumbar condition to an accepted December 2014 work incident. His medical records described back pain, surgery, and work restrictions. The Board found that the reports did not give a reasoned opinion connecting a diagnosed lumbar condition to the incident…
D.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Northpark Annex, Charlotte, NC
Board requires merits review of postal clerk's new impairment evidence (ECAB 20-1467)
A postal mail clerk asked OWCP to reconsider its denial of a schedule award after accepted head and neck conditions. She submitted a new physician report assigning three percent right arm impairment. OWCP refused to reopen the merits. The Board held that a request supported by new impairment…
P.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kerhonkson, NY
Board upholds termination after postal worker refused suitable clerk job (ECAB 20-0700)
A postal worker declined an offered general clerk position. OWCP found that the job fit her doctor's restrictions, including a 20 pound lifting limit and changes of body position, and that she could perform its duties. The Board agreed that the offer was suitable and that her later evidence did not…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 4014, National Citizenship and Immigration Services Council 119
USCIS and AFGE Local 4014 (FLRA 0-AR-5760): Authority remands late attorney-fee award
After an unchallenged merits award, AFGE Local 4014 asked the arbitrator for attorney fees. The parties' agreement required a ruling within 30 days of the agency's objections, and the parties later agreed to several extensions. The agency objected after the last extension expired, but the…
Flem Hall, Jr. v. Apache Mining Company
Hall v. Apache Mining (BRB 21-0370 BLA): Black lung benefits affirmed
Flem Hall received black lung benefits after a judge found complicated pneumoconiosis linked to his coal mine employment. Apache Mining argued that a later operator should pay and challenged the medical evidence. The Board upheld the judge's use of earnings records to find that the later company…
Edward R. McGregor v. Heritage Coal Company, LLC
McGregor v. Heritage Coal (BRB 20-0186 BLA): Benefits and carrier liability affirmed
Edward McGregor received black lung benefits after thirty-three years of underground coal mine work. Heritage Coal and its former parent, Peabody Energy, argued that a later transfer of Heritage to Patriot Coal and Patriot's bankruptcy shifted payment liability away from Peabody. The Board rejected…
L.R., widow of R.R., and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
Board upholds refusal to reopen Navy widow's death claim (ECAB 22-1280)
The widow of a Navy shipyard worker sought reconsideration of the denial of her survivor claim. OWCP received her request more than one year after its last merits decision, so it applied the clear evidence of error rule. The Board found that her submission did not show a clear error in the prior…
H.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Pittsburgh Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's head injury claim (ECAB 22-0789)
A postal city carrier assistant struck her head on a vehicle door frame during work and claimed a head injury. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim because the record lacked a diagnosis from a qualified physician. The Board found that the work slips came from nurse…
M.M. and Department of State, South Central Asian Affairs, Washington, DC
Board upholds refusal to reopen State Department worker's schedule award claim (ECAB 22-0780)
A State Department employee sought reconsideration of a denied schedule award for an accepted injury sustained during an attack on a government vehicle. The Board's jurisdiction was limited to OWCP's December 2021 refusal to reopen, because the last merits decision was too old for review on this…
T.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Lunas, NM
Board rejects postal carrier's intermittent disability claim (ECAB 22-0632)
A postal carrier with an accepted back injury sought intermittent wage loss compensation from September 2017 through July 2018. Her physician's reports discussed diagnoses and later periods but did not specifically address disability on the claimed dates. The Board found the medical proof…
S.S. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity, Pueblo Chemical Depot, Pueblo, CO
Board changes fault finding on Army worker's retirement overpayment (ECAB 21-1317)
An Army employee received FECA wage loss compensation while also receiving OPM retirement payments. The Board upheld a $276,281.44 overpayment for September 2014 through February 2021, correcting OWCP's stated start date. It found him without fault before OWCP's February 17, 2016 notice of the dual…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Budd Lake Post Office, Budd Lake, NJ
Board rejects postal carrier's added conditions and short disability claim (ECAB 20-0305)
A postal city carrier assistant sought wage loss for March 1 through 4, 2016 and expansion of an accepted injury claim to additional conditions. The Board found that her doctors did not adequately explain disability on those specific dates from the accepted injury. Their reports also did not…
Ricky Glen Adams v. Consol of Kentucky, Incorporated
Adams v. Consol of Kentucky (BRB 21-0337 BLA): Benefits award on modification affirmed
Ricky Adams sought modification of a black lung benefits denial after at least twenty-seven years of underground coal mine work. The judge found that a respiratory impairment prevented Adams from doing his heavy work as a roof bolter, which triggered the statutory presumption of disability due to…
Doyle Cornett v. ICG Hazard, LLC
Cornett v. ICG Hazard (BRB 21-0220 BLA): Benefits denial affirmed
Doyle Cornett sought black lung benefits after at least twenty-five years of underground coal mine work. The judge denied the claim because Cornett had not shown a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Reviewing his appeal without counsel, the Board found that two lung function studies met the…
Thomas L. Kruise v. Tanoma Mining Company, Incorporated
Kruise v. Tanoma Mining (BRB 21-0188 BLA): Benefits denial affirmed
Thomas Kruise sought black lung benefits after working in underground mines and developing a disabling respiratory impairment. The judge credited fourteen years and eight months of coal mine work, below the fifteen years needed for the statutory presumption, after excluding a year when Kruise said…
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.