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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Glennis C. Hatfield, on behalf of Fonso Hatfield, v. Kentland Elkhorn Coal Corporation
Hatfield v. Kentland Elkhorn Coal (BRB 21-0389 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Glennis Hatfield pursued the late Fonso Hatfield's subsequent black lung claim. The judge credited the miner with 36.68 years of coal mine work, including at least 15 years underground, and found a totally disabling respiratory impairment. That invoked the fifteen-year presumption, which Kentland…
Rocky D. Crigger v. Olga Coal Company and West Virginia Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis Fund
Crigger v. Olga Coal (BRB 21-0385 BLA): rebuttal findings returned for review
Rocky D. Crigger received black lung benefits after a judge found 16 years of underground mine work and total respiratory disability, then applied the fifteen-year presumption. Olga Coal challenged the finding that it had failed to rebut the presumption. The Board held that the judge had not fully…
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…
Archie Butcher v. Service Employees International, Incorporated
Butcher v. Service Employees International (BRB 21-0075): Defense Base Act benefits denial affirmed
Archie Butcher worked in Iraq recovering damaged military equipment and sustained a serious brain injury while on leave in Thailand. He claimed Defense Base Act benefits under the doctrine that can cover risks created by the conditions of overseas employment. The Board majority affirmed the judge's…
B.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oklahoma City, OK
Board upholds denial of rural carrier's left shoulder injury claim (ECAB 22-0918)
A rural carrier associate fell while carrying mail and was diagnosed with a left rotator cuff tear. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied his claim for lack of medical proof that it caused the tear. The Board found that his surgeon described the injury as work related without explaining…
E.T and Department of the Navy, Commander, Navy Installations Command, San Diego, CA
Board orders combined review of Navy worker's pulmonary disease claims (ECAB 22-0701)
A retired Navy employee claimed lung disease from workplace asbestos exposure. OWCP denied the claim for lack of evidence of the exposure. The Board found that he had an earlier accepted occupational claim for asthma and that the two pulmonary files needed to be considered together. It directed…
M.A. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety & Inspection Service, Minneapolis, MN
Board confirms food inspector's workplace fall and orders medical review (ECAB 22-0661)
A food inspector reported falling in a workplace bathroom and injuring her right arm and leg. OWCP denied her claim because it found insufficient evidence that the incident happened as alleged. The Board found her account consistent with the record, including her supervisor's acknowledgment and…
K.N. and Department of the Army, Training & Doctrine Command, Fort Leonard Wood, MO
Board upholds denial of late hearing request in Army worker's knee case (ECAB 22-0647)
An Army equipment operator sought an oral hearing after OWCP denied his claim for a knee injury from stepping out of a loader. He requested the hearing nearly four months after OWCP's decision. The Board found that the request missed the 30-day deadline for a hearing as of right. It also found that…
C.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Memphis Network Distribution Center, Memphis, TN
Board dismisses postal employee's appeal from an informational letter (ECAB 22-0447)
A postal employee appealed what she described as an OWCP decision dated August 25, 2021. The Board found that the document was an informational letter, not a final adverse decision. Because the Board's review authority requires a final adverse OWCP decision, it dismissed the appeal without reaching…
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's November 2021 wage-loss claim (ECAB 22-0383)
A rural carrier with accepted injuries from a work vehicle crash claimed wage-loss compensation for part of November 2021. He submitted imaging reports and a physician assistant's note. The Board found that the imaging did not address his ability to work on the claimed dates, and the assistant's…
A.B. and Department of the Air Force, Norton Air Force Base, CA
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration request in Air Force back case (ECAB 22-0345)
A former Air Force jet engine mechanic challenged the termination of his back injury benefits years after OWCP's last merits decision. His 2021 reconsideration request argued that the impartial examiner had relied on an inadequate statement of facts. The Board found the request was outside the…
Y.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Santa Ana Processing & Distribution Center, Santa Ana, CA
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal clerk's back and shoulder benefits case (ECAB 22-0327)
A postal lead clerk sought reconsideration of OWCP's termination of compensation and medical benefits for accepted back and shoulder injuries. His physician argued that OWCP had mishandled a request to add lumbar conditions to the claim. The Board found that the argument repeated earlier points and…
UHS of Centennial Peaks LLC, dba Centennial Peaks Hospital
Psychiatric-hospital workplace violence citation affirmed
UHS of Centennial Peaks operated an inpatient psychiatric hospital where direct-care employees faced threats and assaults by patients. The judge found that the hospital recognized workplace violence as an endemic hazard but relied too heavily on clinical patient care rather than a comprehensive…
United States Department of State, Passport Service and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1998
Passport Service and NFFE Local 1998 (FLRA 0-AR-5805): Authority upholds career-ladder promotion
A Passport Service employee in a career-ladder position was denied promotion from GS-9 to GS-11 even after receiving a fully successful rating and strong production results. An arbitrator found that the employee had demonstrated higher-level ability and that the agency had failed to provide enough…
United States Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, New York and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3732
Merchant Marine Academy and AFGE Local 3732 (FLRA 0-AR-5750): Authority upholds tuition reimbursements
A Merchant Marine Academy professor submitted nineteen tuition-assistance requests while pursuing a master's degree, but the Academy funded only seven in part. An arbitrator found that the Academy inconsistently administered its program, failed to show funds were unavailable, and wrongly rejected…
Secretary of Labor v. Green Brothers Gravel Company, Inc.
Mistyped email justified reopening default
Green Brothers Gravel did not answer the Secretary's penalty petition, and an order to show cause became a default order after 30 days. The operator said pandemic-era service occurred by email and a typographical error in counsel's email address prevented delivery of both the petition and later…
Secretary of Labor v. Washington County Aggregates, Inc.
Conference request and COVID illness excused late contest
Washington County Aggregates did not contest a proposed penalty within 30 days, so the assessment became a final Commission order in September 2021. The operator said it mistakenly believed that requesting a safety and health conference with the MSHA district office began the citation-contest…
L.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Union Bridge Post Office, Union Bridge, MD
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal clerk's disability claim (ECAB 22-0793)
A postal clerk with an accepted spine injury sought wage-loss compensation after an automated postage machine fell on her. OWCP denied the disability claim and later denied modification. Her next reconsideration request included no new evidence or legal argument. The Board held that she had not met…
A.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hartford, CT
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal manager's back and knee claim (ECAB 22-0617)
A postal operations manager claimed that walking and other physical duties worsened her back and knees. OWCP denied the claim for lack of sufficient medical causation evidence. Her latest request for reconsideration contained no evidence or legal argument. The Board held that it did not meet any…
S.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, New York Harbor Health Care System, New York, NY
Board reverses finding that VA clerk's accepted injuries had resolved (ECAB 22-0393)
A VA medical clerk disputed OWCP's finding that most conditions accepted after a workplace fall had resolved. OWCP's consulting surgeon said only her right shoulder injury still had residuals, while her treating physician found continuing conditions and disability. The Board found an unresolved…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Clearwater, FL
Postal carrier's existing arm impairment awards upheld (ECAB 22-0157)
A postal letter carrier sought a larger schedule award after receiving compensation for impairment in both arms. A consulting surgeon rated his left arm impairment at 12 percent. OWCP's district medical adviser explained that the spinal nerve rating rules capped the cervical impairment at 9 percent…
D.C. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, El Monte, CA
IRS agent's request for reconsideration denied without merit review (ECAB 22-0098)
An IRS agent claimed that clearing a printer jam at work injured her left shoulder and arm. OWCP denied the claim because the medical evidence did not establish that the incident caused the diagnosed conditions. When she sought reconsideration, she submitted a statement about existing medical…
Petroplex Pipe and Construction, Inc.
Commission dismisses lockout case after settlement
The case arose after a fire during maintenance on oil-field equipment in Stanton, Texas, killed two Petroplex employees. OSHA pursued five lockout/tagout items involving equipment-specific procedures, inspections, training, employee lock control, and coordination with the host employer. The…
United States Department of Education, Washington, D.C. and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 252, AFL-CIO
Department of Education and AFGE (FLRA WA-CA-18-0173): Authority upholds remedies for fourteen labor violations
The FLRA General Counsel consolidated fourteen unfair-labor-practice charges against the Department of Education involving bargaining, formal discussions, official time, dues withholding, and other union rights. The Department missed the deadline to answer, so the chief administrative law judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Good-cause inquiry ordered for late contests
Consol missed the 30-day deadline to contest a section 107(a) order because it was trying to resolve the matter through meetings with MSHA officials. It also sought to reopen three related citations, but one had not yet been assessed, another had already been timely contested, and only Citation No…
H.J. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Dulles International Airport, Sterling, VA
Border officer's continuation of pay claim denied for late injury form (ECAB 22-0772)
A Customs and Border Protection officer reported contracting COVID-19 at work on December 16, 2021. She filed the required traumatic injury form on February 1, 2022 and sought continuation of pay for time away from work. Federal law requires filing the form within 30 days of the injury to receive…
C.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
Rural carrier's back injury claim denied for insufficient medical explanation (ECAB 22-0195)
A rural postal carrier reported back pain after organizing packages in her delivery vehicle. OWCP accepted that the January 29, 2021 work incident occurred but denied her injury claim. Her physician described low back pain and linked it generally to reaching for packages. The Board found that his…
J.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Journal Square Station, Jersey City, NJ
Postal carrier's benefit termination reversed because offered work was not shown suitable (ECAB 20-0490)
A postal letter carrier with an accepted left shoulder injury was offered a modified job involving mail delivery and sorting. OWCP ended her wage loss compensation and schedule award entitlement after finding that she refused suitable work. The Board found that the medical assessment did not…
Secretary of Labor v. Nyrstar Tennessee Mines Gordonsville, LLC
Paid assessment reopened after mistaken abatement belief
Nyrstar paid $12,297 for 24 citations without filing a timely penalty contest. A superintendent stated that he had believed the operator and MSHA had reached an agreement on abating each violation, but no agreement was ultimately reached and citation-termination issues remained open. The Secretary…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC and Secretary of Labor v. Michael Butler
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC and Michael Butler (FMSHRC LAKE 2019-0023): Energized drilling in high methane affirmed
A drill breached old mine workings at Peabody's Francisco Mine, releasing methane that repeatedly exceeded the drill's two-percent shutdown point and registered at least five percent on personal detectors. Mine manager Michael Butler allowed miners to keep an energized drill operating for about…
Secretary of Labor v. Liberty Aggregates LLC
Inadvertent late contest reopened after MSHA inquiries
Liberty Aggregates did not contest a four-citation penalty assessment within 30 days, made a partial payment, and later received a delinquency notice. The operator said it had repeatedly contacted MSHA offices during January and February 2022 to understand the basis for the large assessment. It…
Joyce A. Whitaker, on behalf of and widow of Ivan Whitaker, v. Cook & Sons Mining, Incorporated and National Union Fire/Chartis
Whitaker v. Cook & Sons Mining (BRB 21-0582 and 21-0583): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Joyce Whitaker pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. The judge found Ivan Whitaker had 23 years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The fifteen-year presumption applied, and the employer failed to rebut it. On appeal, the…
Ronnie G. Horn v. Extra Energy, Incorporated
Horn v. Extra Energy (BRB 21-0556 BLA): benefits and operator liability affirmed
Ronnie G. Horn received black lung benefits after a judge found more than 16 years of qualifying coal mine work and total respiratory disability. The judge applied the fifteen-year presumption and found that Extra Energy had not rebutted it. Extra Energy challenged its designation as the…
Danny W. Rush v. The Monongalia County Coal Company and Murray Energy Corporation Trust
Rush v. Monongalia County Coal (BRB 21-0532 BLA): benefits denial on modification affirmed
Danny W. Rush sought to modify the denial of his subsequent black lung claim. Although he had many years of coal mine work, the judges found that the evidence did not establish the conditions needed for benefits. On appeal from the modification denial, the Board upheld the finding that Rush did not…
Lonnie M. Stapleton v. Consol of Kentucky, Incorporated and American Business Mercantile Mutual Insurance
Stapleton v. Consol of Kentucky (BRB 21-0392 BLA): operator liability affirmed
The parties agreed that Lonnie M. Stapleton had 24 years of coal mine work and was totally disabled due to work-related pneumoconiosis. An administrative law judge awarded benefits and designated Consol of Kentucky as the operator responsible for payment. Consol appealed only that designation and…
Thomas E. Martin v. Sea “B” Mining Company and Pittston Company
Martin v. Sea B Mining (BRB 21-0166 BLA): benefits award affirmed by majority
Thomas E. Martin received black lung benefits after a judge found that medical evidence established legal pneumoconiosis and that it substantially contributed to his total respiratory disability. He had 11.55 years of coal mine work, so the fifteen-year presumption did not apply. The Board majority…
Trivedi v. General Electric and GE Healthcare
Years-late whistleblower complaint dismissed
Madhuri Trivedi alleged that General Electric and GE Healthcare retaliated against her when they ended her employment in May 2013. She filed the complaint before the Board in September 2021, more than eight years after the termination and far beyond the 180-day deadlines under SOX and the Consumer…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Arlington, TX
Postal worker's appeal dismissed because no timely adverse OWCP decision was in the record (ECAB 22-0834)
A postal worker appealed to the Board after OWCP expanded acceptance of her claim to include bilateral tarsal tunnel syndrome. The Board found that the April 28, 2022 expansion was favorable, so it was not an adverse decision it could review. The record also contained no other final adverse OWCP…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Miami, FL
Postal worker's back injury claim returned for review with an earlier claim (ECAB 22-0798)
A postal mail handler claimed a low back injury after stepping off a porch while delivering a package. OWCP denied her claim, ultimately finding that the medical evidence did not link her diagnosed spinal conditions to the incident. She also had an earlier accepted low back injury claim in a…
H.G. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Systems Command, Fleet Readiness Center Southwest, San Diego, CA
Navy mechanic's triceps injury claim denied for lack of medical causation opinion (ECAB 22-0587)
A Navy maintenance mechanic reported injuring his right arm while grabbing a beam to prevent a fall at work. An MRI showed a partial triceps tendon tear, and physicians diagnosed the condition. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim for insufficient evidence of…
K.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Ogden Park Station, Chicago, IL
Postal carrier's request to revisit schedule award date denied without merit review (ECAB 22-0434)
A postal letter carrier received a schedule award for five percent impairment of her left leg. She asked OWCP to reconsider the date on which her impairment reached maximum medical improvement, arguing it occurred before her physician's February 7, 2020 evaluation. The Board found no medical…
R.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
VA worker's appeal and late reconsideration petition dismissed (ECAB 22-0331)
A VA worker sought to appeal a prior decision issued by the Board, which had returned an earlier appeal to OWCP. The Board found no new final adverse OWCP decision in the record that it could review in the current appeal. It also treated the filing as a possible request to reconsider its earlier…
G.L. and U.S. Postal Service, West Sacramento Processing & Distribution Center, West Sacramento, CA
Postal worker's arm impairment award returned for review of later medical evidence (ECAB 22-0166)
A postal mail handler with accepted arm conditions received a schedule award based on 11 percent left arm and 16 percent right arm impairment. His physician later submitted shoulder findings and an additional impairment rating. The Board found that OWCP had sent an earlier report to its district…
T.P. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Forests in Alabama, Albuquerque, NM
Forestry aide's earlier disability period returned for medical review (ECAB 22-0076)
A former Forest Service forestry aide sought wage loss compensation for disability she attributed to accepted knee conditions from a 1979 work injury. OWCP accepted a recurrence of disability beginning July 10, 2018 but denied compensation for the earlier period starting November 6, 2017. The…
United States Agency for Global Media and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1812
U.S. Agency for Global Media and AFGE Local 1812 (FLRA 0-AR-5648): Authority denies debt-waiver reconsideration
AFGE Local 1812 asked the Authority to reconsider an earlier decision that set aside an arbitrator's grant of employee debt waivers. The earlier ruling held that an agency official's decision to grant or deny a waiver under 5 U.S.C. § 5584 is not grievable because agencies have exclusive discretion…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Little Rock, AR
Postal carrier's reconsideration denied because new report did not address work factor (ECAB 22-0887)
A rural postal carrier claimed an emotional condition arising from workplace conflict and alleged retaliation. OWCP denied the claim after finding that he had not established a compensable work factor. He sought reconsideration with a new psychiatrist's report that linked his symptoms to job duties…
E.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Berkeley Main Post Office, Berkeley, CA
Postal carrier denied waiver of $20,030.86 overpayment without financial records (ECAB 22-0436)
A postal letter carrier received a $20,030.86 overpayment while collecting Social Security retirement benefits and federal injury compensation without the required offset. An earlier Board decision found that he was not at fault for the overpayment and sent the waiver issue back to OWCP. OWCP asked…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Chicago Lawn Post Office, Chicago, IL
Postal carrier's limb impairment claim returned for clearer medical rating (ECAB 22-0223)
A postal letter carrier sought more than the schedule awards already paid for impairment of both arms and both legs. OWCP relied on a consulting surgeon's rating to deny an increase. The Board found the rating internally inconsistent about her left knee and incomplete for her right knee and…
F.G. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, San Francisco, CA
Border investigator's insurance premium underpayment returned for date review (ECAB 22-0200)
A former customs investigator received wage loss compensation while OWCP deducted federal life insurance premiums. OWCP found that it had deducted too much for several insurance categories and paid him $4,410.44 for July 1998 through June 2014. He disputed the calculation and sought more. The Board…
S.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, City of Industry, CA
Mail handler's wage loss payments ended after refusal of available limited duty (ECAB 22-0154)
A postal mail handler was receiving wage loss compensation for an accepted right knee injury. Her employer offered a temporary modified assignment after her surgeon released her to work with limits on lifting, walking, standing, and other tasks. OWCP ended her wage loss payments after she did not…
J.T. and Department of the Air Force, Kelly Air Force Base, TX
Air Force mechanic's asbestos disease claim barred by filing deadline (ECAB 20-1093)
A retired Air Force mechanic claimed an asbestos related lung condition from work at Kelly Air Force Base. He last worked there in 1999, recognized a possible work connection by 2006, and filed his claim in 2016. The Board found the filing outside the statutory time limit. Coworker statements and…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 038, National Citizenship and Immigration Service Council and United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
USCIS and AFGE Local 038 (FLRA 0-AR-5801): Authority upholds appraisal grievance denial
USCIS gave an employee an achieved-expectations rating without discussing the appraisal or providing a copy when the employee signed it, contrary to the parties' agreement. An arbitrator found those procedural violations undisputed but concluded that later review corrected them and that no evidence…
Secretary of Labor v. Harman Branch Mining Inc.
Pandemic mail delay excused missing contest
Harman Branch Mining's representative said he prepared a penalty contest and placed it in the mail one day after the operator received the assessment. MSHA did not process a timely contest, and the assessment became a final Commission order. Harman attributed the failure to pandemic-related changes…
Secretary of Labor v. Kanawha Eagle Mining, LLC
Wrong contest box checked by mistake
Kanawha Eagle's safety director said he mailed a penalty-contest form on April 17, 2020, but checked the box for a single $123 citation instead of the adjacent box contesting all $17,385 in penalties. The remaining assessments therefore became a final Commission order, and MSHA later issued a…
Secretary of Labor v. Farwest Portable Crushing, Inc.
Documented mailing attempts defeated default
Farwest Portable Crushing was defaulted after the record appeared to show that it had not answered the Secretary's penalty petition or responded to an order to show cause. The operator produced certified-mail receipts showing that it mailed an answer in September 2020 and resent its paperwork in…
Secretary of Labor v. LaFarge Holcim
Missing timely contest treated as mistake
LaFarge Holcim paid one citation in a two-citation assessment and said it timely submitted a contest for Citation No. 9622263 at the same time. MSHA did not receive that contest, and the assessment became a final Commission order. The operator discovered the outstanding balance on January 27, 2022…
Secretary of Labor v. United Taconite LLC
Deleted calendar deadline excused
United Taconite missed a penalty-contest deadline after receiving two proposed assessments close together. Its paralegal confused the two matters and inadvertently deleted the deadline for this assessment after filing the other contest. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but urged the operator…
Secretary of Labor v. ICG Illinois LLC
Contests sent with payments to lockbox reopened
ICG Illinois intended to contest citations in two assessments but mistakenly sent the contest notices with its payments for uncontested citations to MSHA's St. Louis lockbox. The notices should have been sent separately to MSHA's Arlington office, so both assessments became final Commission orders…
Secretary of Labor v. Bob Bergkamp Construction Company, Inc.
Contest sent to wrong agency reopened
Bob Bergkamp Construction attempted to contest a proposed penalty before the deadline but sent its notice to the Commission instead of MSHA. The operator supplied a confirmation email showing that it uploaded a document to the Commission's electronic case system on March 29, 2022, eight days after…
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt, Inc.
New specialist's conference mistake excused
Morton Salt's newly assigned health and safety specialist did not file a penalty contest because he was unfamiliar with the process. He believed no contest was required while the citations were being conferenced and one remained under investigation. The assessment therefore became a final…
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.