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.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mount Vernon, WA
Board orders timely reconsideration review of postal worker's ankle claim (ECAB 22-0264)
A postal carrier sought reconsideration of OWCP’s denial of her claim for renewed left ankle disability. OWCP applied the stricter standard for a request filed more than one year after its most recent merit decision. The Board found that her May 5, 2020 request came within one year of the June 12…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, West Adams Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's wrist claim (ECAB 22-0257)
A postal letter carrier claimed that repetitive mail delivery work caused de Quervain’s tenosynovitis in her right wrist. OWCP asked her for a detailed description of the work activities she believed caused the condition, but she did not respond to its questionnaire. The Board found the work-factor…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Duluth, GA
Board orders clearer medical opinion on postal worker's tendon claim (ECAB 21-1260)
A postal supervisor with an accepted plantar foot condition sought recognition of a right posterior tibial tendon condition and authorization for surgery. OWCP’s impartial examiner said the tendon condition was unrelated to the accepted plantar condition, but did not address whether years of…
L.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Pawling Post Office, Pawling, NY
Board orders postal worker's back injury files combined (ECAB 22-0083)
A postal carrier reported a new back injury while lifting boxes in June 2020. OWCP had previously accepted a back injury from 2016, but did not combine the two claim files before denying the new claim and reconsideration request. The Board found that a full review required both back injury records…
G.T. and U.S. Postal Service, White Station Post Office, Memphis, TN
Board upholds denial of merit review of postal worker's emotional condition claim (ECAB 21-1276)
A postal carrier sought FECA benefits for an emotional condition he attributed to workplace actions. OWCP denied the claim because it found the alleged work factors unsubstantiated. On reconsideration, he repeated the allegations and submitted treatment notes, but the Board found that these…
F.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hammond, IN
Board recognizes overwork factor in postal supervisor's emotional condition claim (ECAB 21-0489)
A postal supervisor sought FECA benefits for an emotional condition she attributed in part to working long hours across understaffed offices. The Board found her account of overwork corroborated by another supervisor, making that work factor compensable. It found no established error or abuse in…
S.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Corona Citrus Post Office, Corona, CA
Board upholds benefit overpayment and recovery from postal worker (ECAB 20-1416)
A former postal distribution clerk received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to her federal service for the same period without the required offset. The Board upheld OWCP’s $95,751.85 overpayment calculation and its finding that she was without fault…
M.V. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Santa Clarita, CA
Board orders further investigation of IRS employee's workplace incident (ECAB 20-0397)
An IRS employee said a taxpayer’s companion threw a package that struck her arm during a work meeting, and she later sought benefits for an emotional condition. Her supervisors disputed parts of that account, but one had not witnessed the encounter and the activity record another cited was not in…
K.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
Board upholds denial of postal worker's foot fracture claim (ECAB 22-0601)
A postal delivery employee said her right foot slipped on a piece of mail as she left her truck, and doctors diagnosed foot fractures. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied her injury claim. The Board found that one doctor’s causal opinion lacked medical reasoning, another called work…
United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 336
National Park Service and NTEU Chapter 336 (FLRA 0-AR-5796): Authority upholds retaliation backpay
A temporary National Park Service maintenance worker questioned why white employees appeared to receive promotions while Black employees were left behind during a planned reorganization. An arbitrator found that the statement was protected equal-employment-opportunity activity and that retaliatory…
C.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Riverview Vehicle Maintenance Facility, St. Paul, MN
Board dismisses postal worker's late appeal (ECAB 22-1153)
A postal vehicle maintenance employee appealed OWCP's September 10, 2019 decision on July 28, 2022. The Board calculated that the 180-day appeal period ended March 8, 2020. It found the filing untimely and found no documented compelling circumstances explaining the delay. The Board dismissed the…
K.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Albert J. Ellis Airport, Richlands, NC
Board dismisses airport worker's late appeal (ECAB 22-1149)
A Transportation Security Administration employee appealed OWCP's November 22, 2021 decision on July 29, 2022. The Board calculated that the 180-day appeal period ended May 21, 2022. It found the filing untimely and found no documented compelling circumstances explaining the delay. The Board…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oklahoma City, OK
Board dismisses postal worker's late appeal (ECAB 22-1131)
An Oklahoma City postal employee appealed OWCP's February 10, 2021 nonmerit decision on July 22, 2022. The Board calculated that the 180-day appeal period ended August 9, 2021. It found the filing untimely and found no documented compelling circumstances explaining the delay. The Board dismissed…
T.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rockwood, TN
Board dismisses postal worker's appeal at counsel's request (ECAB 22-0920)
A postal worker appealed an OWCP decision through counsel. Before the Board ruled on the appeal, counsel asked to dismiss it. The Board granted the request and dismissed the appeal without addressing the underlying claim.
A.M. and Department of the Air Force, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA
Board upholds denial of Air Force worker's shoulder claim (ECAB 22-0668)
An Air Force nondestructive tester fell while leaving a bathroom trailer at work and later underwent rotator cuff repair. OWCP accepted the fall as a work incident but denied the shoulder injury claim. The Board found that his physician documented the tear, surgery, and work restrictions without…
B.L. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, New York, NY
Board upholds denial of claims examiner's wage-loss request (ECAB 22-0645)
A Department of Labor claims examiner sought wage-loss compensation after an accepted shoulder and back strain. She had also been injured in a vehicle accident before the work incident and later underwent shoulder surgery. The Board found that a new physician addendum attributed her disability…
A.D. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Bethesda, MD
Board upholds denial of Census worker's fall injury claim (ECAB 22-0319)
A Census Bureau field representative tripped over a utility meter while working and reported hand, wrist, shoulder, and other symptoms. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that some physicians did not address causation, while another attributed wrist…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Ville Platte, LA
Board reverses postal worker's reduced wage-loss award for lack of notice (ECAB 22-0199)
A former postal mail carrier’s wage-loss compensation was reduced based on his ability to work as an appointment clerk. He challenged the age of the medical report used in OWCP’s proposed reduction, so OWCP obtained a new examination and relied on that report in its final decision. The Board found…
Cesar Garcia
Five serious citations affirmed after failure to attend trial
OSHA issued Cesar Garcia five serious citation items after inspecting a worksite in Wichita, Kansas, and proposed penalties totaling $15,214. Because Spanish was Garcia's primary language, the judge ordered subsequent filings translated into Spanish and arranged an interpreter for trial. Garcia did…
Sentinel Systems, LLC
Utility-vehicle training citation vacated
A Sentinel Systems employee died when the utility vehicle he was driving struck an empty flatbed trailer at the American Dream Mall construction project in New Jersey. OSHA cited Sentinel for allegedly failing to instruct operators about driving the vehicle on pavement with tires designed for…
I.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, City of Industry, CA
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's knee claim (ECAB 22-0848)
A postal city carrier attributed a right knee condition to a mailbox striking his knee and to the physical demands of his job. OWCP accepted the work factors but denied the claim for lack of sufficient medical causation evidence. The Board found that the surgeon who discussed the mailbox incident…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Albany Annex Post Office, Albany, NY
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's back injury claim (ECAB 22-0415)
A postal city carrier reported lower back pain after lifting tubs of mail at work. OWCP accepted that the lifting incident occurred but denied his injury claim. The Board found that his physician repeatedly indicated the diagnosed back conditions were work related without explaining the medical…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Vehicle Maintenance Facility, Chicago, IL
Board upholds denial of merit review of postal worker's shoulder claim (ECAB 22-0368)
A postal tool and parts clerk sought reconsideration after OWCP denied a new left shoulder injury claim. She resubmitted physical therapy notes and medical reports already in the record. The Board found that the repeated evidence was neither new nor enough to reopen the claim, and she offered no…
R.L. and Department of the Air Force, Arizona Air National Guard, Tucson, AZ
Board finds retired aircraft mechanic's neck claim timely and orders merits review (ECAB 22-0057)
A retired Air National Guard aircraft engine mechanic claimed that repetitive engine maintenance and neck strain caused his cervical spine condition. OWCP rejected his claim as untimely, relying on his 2014 neck surgery and his 2011 retirement. The Board found that the record did not establish that…
R.H. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Federal Air Marshal Service, Chelsea, MA
Board orders independent medical review of air marshal's right knee conditions (ECAB 21-1417)
A federal air marshal injured his knees during a 2004 training exercise, and OWCP accepted several resulting conditions. He later asked OWCP to add right knee arthritis and a bone growth near the tibia to his accepted claim. His physicians and OWCP's consulting surgeon disagreed about whether those…
S.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Florence, SC
Board confirms duplicate award payment but returns amount for recalculation (ECAB 21-1406)
A postal mail handler received a full payment and a supplemental payment covering the end of his right leg schedule award. OWCP found a $3,349.36 overpayment and denied waiver of recovery. The Board agreed that he received more compensation than he was entitled to, but found conflicting amounts and…
S.T. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Washington, DC
Board orders impartial review of economist's claimed lumbar conditions (ECAB 21-0906)
A supervisory economist developed pain after lifting case file bundles at work, and OWCP accepted an abdominal strain. She sought acceptance of additional back and hip conditions and claimed wage loss. Her treating surgeon and OWCP's consulting surgeon disagreed about the lumbar diagnoses and…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Murrells Inlet Post Office, Murrells Inlet, SC
Board orders medical review of postal supervisor's emotional condition claim (ECAB 20-1118)
A postal supervisor claimed that conflict with a subordinate and management's handling of her complaint caused an emotional condition. OWCP denied the claim after finding no compensable employment factor. The Board found two such factors: the subordinate's documented accusations and conduct toward…
D.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, VA St. Louis Regional Office, St. Louis, MO
Board upholds denial of veterans claims examiner's carpal tunnel claim (ECAB 22-0818)
A veterans claims examiner said repeated typing at work caused carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. He submitted treatment records, including reports of surgery on both hands. His physician described the condition as work related but did not explain how the accepted work activities caused it. The…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Rocky Mount Carrier Annex, Rocky Mount, NC
Board orders medical review of postal carrier's workplace altercation claim (ECAB 22-0658)
A postal carrier said an argument with her postmaster at work aggravated her emotional condition. OWCP denied her claim because it found no compensable employment factor. The Board found that a union representative's account and other witness statements supported her description of the postmaster…
K.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's walking-related knee claim (ECAB 22-0299)
A city carrier said years of walking roughly 13 miles a day on his postal route damaged his left knee. OWCP accepted his description of the work but found no sufficient medical evidence linking it to his diagnosed conditions. The Board held that his doctor's report and MRI did not explain…
L.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, John Cochran VA Medical Center, St. Louis, MO
Board finds nurse's fall during workplace visit outside her assigned duties (ECAB 22-0108)
A VA nurse fell while visiting the facility to ask human resources about her leave and work status. She was on leave without pay and had not been directed to visit the workplace that day. The Board found that her visit concerned a personnel matter rather than her assigned work or an activity…
D.H. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, San Diego, CA
Board confirms duplicate award payment but returns overpayment amount for recalculation (ECAB 21-1377)
A Navy employee received overlapping payments near the end of a schedule award for permanent right arm impairment. OWCP found a $2,851.61 overpayment and denied a waiver of recovery. The Board agreed that an extra payment had been made, but found that OWCP's stated amount did not match its payment…
B.W. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Portsmouth, VA
Board orders closer review of Navy plumber's disability from modified work (ECAB 21-0785)
A Navy plumber with an accepted back injury sought wage-loss benefits for periods when he said he could not perform his modified-duty assignment. OWCP's consulting neurologist said he could do sedentary work, but did not assess the actual modified job. The Board found that the doctor's restrictions…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Rocky Mount Carrier Annex, Rocky Mount, NC
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal carrier's emotional condition claim (ECAB 21-0664)
A postal carrier sought reconsideration after OWCP denied her claim that a coworker's parcel strike aggravated her emotional condition. She argued that she was working when the incident occurred and submitted additional psychiatric reports. The Board found that her argument did not address whether…
R.K. and Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC
Board orders timely review of Smithsonian worker's reconsideration request (ECAB 20-1664)
A Smithsonian employee sought reconsideration after OWCP denied her claim that work aggravated an anxiety disorder. OWCP treated her request as late and applied the stricter clear-error standard. The Board found that the one-year deadline fell on a Sunday and that her request received the following…
Menal Balo v. Waterfront Staffing, Incorporated
Balo v. Waterfront Staffing (BRB 21-0529): Disability award remanded over possible alternate job
Menal Balo was injured by falling rebar while working as a day laborer. The judge found he could not return to his usual job and rejected thirteen of fourteen alternate jobs identified by the employer. The Board upheld the rejection of a Goodwill retail job because its duties did not fit Balo's…
Wayne G. Porter v. Windsor Coal Company and East Coast Risk Management, LLC
Porter v. Windsor Coal (BRB 21-0487 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Wayne G. Porter filed a subsequent black lung claim after 27 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, applied the fifteen-year presumption, and awarded benefits because the employer did not rebut it. Windsor Coal challenged the disability…
Edwin W. Brown v. Eastern Associated Coal Company and Peabody Energy Corporation
Brown v. Eastern Associated Coal (BRB 21-0151 BLA): complicated pneumoconiosis award affirmed
Edwin W. Brown received black lung benefits after a judge found complicated pneumoconiosis arising from his coal mine work. Eastern Associated Coal and Peabody Energy challenged Peabody's carrier liability and the disease finding. The Board upheld the liability ruling and concluded that substantial…
Joe F. Harrison v. Coastal Coal Company, LLC
Harrison v. Coastal Coal (BRB 21-0130 BLA): reconsideration denied
The Board had previously affirmed a black lung benefits award to Joe F. Harrison. Coastal Coal then filed a timely request for the full Board to reconsider that decision and hear oral argument. No Board member voted for reconsideration or argument. The Board denied both requests, leaving the…
Barry L. Owens v. Wellmore Energy Company, LLC and Brickstreet Mutual Insurance Company
Owens v. Wellmore Energy (BRB 21-0124 BLA): complicated pneumoconiosis issue remanded
Barry L. Owens appealed a denial of black lung benefits after more than 29 years of coal mine work. The Board upheld the judge's finding that the evidence did not establish total respiratory disability under the ordinary disability test. It found that the judge had not adequately explained his…
Bremerton Metal Trades Council and United States Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Bremerton Metal Trades Council (FLRA 0-AR-5809): Authority upholds one-day suspension
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard held an employee's one-day suspension in abeyance on the condition that the employee avoid further disciplinary offenses for two years. After the employee accepted a separate suspension for later conduct, the agency imposed the suspended day without another notice period…
United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Garrison Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858
Redstone Arsenal and AFGE Local 1858 (FLRA 0-AR-5778): Authority vacates promotion stipend
A Redstone Arsenal security guard regularly performed point-of-contact duties and sought GS-6 compensation and a permanent promotion. An arbitrator found that the agency had failed to bargain over compensation for the extra duties and awarded a weekly stipend. The Authority held that 5 U.S.C. §…
Laborers International Union of North America, Local 1776 and United States Department of the Army, National Guard Bureau, Michigan Army National Guard
Laborers Local 1776 and Michigan Army National Guard (FLRA 0-AR-5732): Authority upholds immediate technician removals
The Michigan Army National Guard adopted a policy requiring immediate removal of dual-status technicians who lost military membership because of a medical disability, even while disability-retirement claims were pending. Laborers Local 1776 argued that the policy repudiated an agreement provision…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Stay of reinstatement-payment enforcement denied
Alvaro Saldivar received temporary economic reinstatement while his discrimination case against Grimes Rock proceeded, with outside earnings offset against the operator's payments. After periods when Saldivar was unavailable for work and later had no outside job, a judge ordered Grimes Rock to pay…
Glenda Ellis, on behalf of and widow of Willard R. Ellis, v. Betty B Coal Company, Incorporated and Security Insurance Company of Hartford
Ellis v. Betty B Coal (BRB 21-0537 and 21-0538): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Glenda Ellis pursued her late husband's subsequent black lung claim and her own survivor claim. The judge found that Willard Ellis had complicated pneumoconiosis arising from coal mine work and awarded miner benefits under the irrebuttable presumption, with derivative survivor benefits for his…
Glenda Ellis, on behalf of and widow of Willard R. Ellis, v. Betty B Coal Company, Incorporated and Security Insurance Company of Hartford
Ellis v. Betty B Coal (BRB 21-0537 and 21-0538): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Glenda Ellis pursued her late husband's subsequent black lung claim and her own survivor claim. The judge found that Willard Ellis had complicated pneumoconiosis arising from coal mine work and awarded miner benefits under the irrebuttable presumption, with derivative survivor benefits for his…
Raymond B. Johnson v. Eighty-Four Mining Company and Consol Energy, Incorporated
Johnson v. Eighty-Four Mining (BRB 21-0490 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Raymond B. Johnson received black lung benefits after a judge credited him with 36 years of underground coal mine work and found a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The judge applied the fifteen-year presumption and found that the employer did not rebut it. The employer challenged the…
Elbert Sizemore, Jr. v. Christine Trucking and Kentucky Employers Mutual Insurance
Sizemore v. Christine Trucking (BRB 21-0345 BLA): award on remand affirmed
Elbert Sizemore filed a subsequent black lung claim that had previously been denied. After the Board returned the case for another look at disability evidence, the judge found about 24 years of qualifying coal mine work and total respiratory disability. He applied the fifteen-year presumption and…
Benny L. Harris v. KenAmerican Resources, Incorporated and Kentucky Employers Mutual Insurance
Harris v. KenAmerican Resources (BRB 21-0303 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Benny L. Harris received black lung benefits after a judge found at least 15 years of underground mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. That finding invoked the fifteen-year presumption, and the employer did not rebut it. The employer challenged the disability finding, pointing…
Thelma Vance, on behalf of and widow of William B. Vance, v. Jewell Smokeless Coal Corporation
Vance v. Jewell Smokeless Coal (BRB 21-0133 and 21-0134): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Thelma Vance pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. The judge found William Vance had 14.7 years of coal mine work, so the fifteen-year presumption did not apply. She instead found that medical evidence established legal pneumoconiosis and total respiratory…
Thelma Vance, on behalf of and widow of William B. Vance, v. Jewell Smokeless Coal Corporation
Vance v. Jewell Smokeless Coal (BRB 21-0133 and 21-0134): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Thelma Vance pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. The judge found William Vance had 14.7 years of coal mine work, so the fifteen-year presumption did not apply. She instead found that medical evidence established legal pneumoconiosis and total respiratory…
John C. Goble v. Left Beaver Coal Company and Old Republic Insurance Company
Goble v. Left Beaver Coal (BRB 21-0012 BLA): benefits award on remand affirmed
John C. Goble's black lung claim returned to an administrative law judge after an earlier Board remand over how disability evidence was weighed. On remand, the judge found total respiratory disability and concluded that legal pneumoconiosis substantially contributed to it, then awarded benefits…
Rutland Melton v. Apogee Coal Company and Arch Coal, Incorporated
Melton v. Apogee Coal (BRB 20-0115 BLA): benefits and carrier liability affirmed
Rutland Melton filed a subsequent black lung claim after at least 15 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found total respiratory disability, applied the fifteen-year presumption, and awarded benefits when the employer did not rebut it. Apogee Coal and Arch Coal disputed Arch's carrier…
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Little Rock, AR
Board orders combined review of postal clerk's two back injury claims (ECAB 22-0814)
A postal window clerk claimed a back injury from bending and lifting flat bundles in March 2021. OWCP denied that claim, while a separate file held her previously accepted 2020 back injury. The Board found that proper review of the newer claim required cross-referencing the two files because they…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Worth, TX
Board orders a new impartial examiner for postal worker's leg and hip conditions (ECAB 22-0591)
A former mail carrier sought to add left hip, right knee, right ankle, and right foot conditions to his accepted injury claim. His doctors and OWCP's consultants disagreed about whether those conditions resulted from the accepted injury. OWCP selected a physician as an impartial examiner, but that…
C.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Ridgeway Post Office, Ridgeway, VA
Board orders further medical review of postal carrier's shoulder injury (ECAB 22-0478)
A rural carrier fell while delivering a parcel and later sought compensation for a right shoulder injury. OWCP denied the claim for lack of medical proof connecting the shoulder condition to the fall. Her surgeon explained that the impact of the fall caused a rotator cuff tear and noted that…
C.L. and Department of the Navy, Naval Installations Command, Norfolk, VA
Board upholds recovery of Navy worker's $14,368.65 benefits overpayment (ECAB 22-0349)
A Navy training specialist received FECA wage-loss compensation while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits partly attributable to federal service. The Board upheld OWCP's calculation of the resulting $14,368.65 overpayment and found she was without fault. It affirmed denial of a…
Secretary of Labor v. Espinoza Stone, Inc.
Pandemic strain supported reopening late penalty contest
Espinoza Stone did not contest a proposed penalty within 30 days, so the assessment became a final Commission order in July 2020. The operator said the unprecedented strain of the COVID-19 pandemic caused the missed deadline, that it discovered the lapse in June 2021, and that it moved to reopen 20…
Bobby R. Bonds v. Mingo Logan Coal Company
Bonds v. Mingo Logan Coal (BRB 21-0150 and 21-0433): benefits and fee awards affirmed
Bobby R. Bonds filed a subsequent black lung claim after 38 years of qualifying coal mine work. The judge found total respiratory disability, applied the fifteen-year presumption, and awarded benefits when Mingo Logan Coal failed to rebut it. She also partly granted a petition for employer-paid…
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.