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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I.S. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
Navy rigger's knee injury claim returned for medical development (ECAB 20-0216)
A Norfolk Naval Shipyard rigger said he hyperextended his right knee stepping out of a workplace shuttle van. His orthopedic surgeon linked the incident to additional damage of preexisting knee cartilage and explained a possible mechanism consistent with an MRI. The Board found that the reports did…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hialeah, FL
Postal carrier's request to reopen thumb injury termination denied (ECAB 22-0529)
A Postal Service letter carrier sought to reopen a decision ending compensation and medical benefits for an accepted left thumb condition. She argued that OWCP's second-opinion examination was flawed and resubmitted a physician's report already in the record. The Board found no new relevant medical…
Y.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Evanston Post Office, Evanston, WY
Postal worker's appeal dismissed after 180-day deadline (ECAB 22-0439)
A Postal Service worker appealed an OWCP decision issued March 26, 2020. She filed with the Board on January 31, 2022, well after the September 22, 2020 deadline. She cited a foot and ankle injury and a need for medical treatment, but the Board found no showing that circumstances beyond her control…
R.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Reserve Post Office, Reserve, LA
Rural carrier's continuing disability claim denied for insufficient medical proof (ECAB 22-0140)
A Postal Service rural carrier fell while delivering a package, and OWCP accepted a right toe contusion, right knee contusion, and left ankle sprain. She claimed wage-loss compensation for periods beginning in March 2020. OWCP's second-opinion surgeon found the accepted conditions had resolved and…
H.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, Indio, CA
Border patrol agent's late written record review request denied (ECAB 22-0053)
A border patrol agent reported knee and hand injuries after an altercation during an arrest. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his injury claim in March 2021 for insufficient medical evidence. He requested a written record review in September, after the 30-day deadline. The Board…
N.C. and Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, George Washington Carver Center, Beltsville, MD
Agriculture worker's knee arthritis claim sent to impartial examiner (ECAB 20-1385)
An Agriculture Department customer service advocate slipped at work and injured her back and knees. OWCP accepted several conditions, including knee contusions, but declined to connect her preexisting left knee arthritis, later knee replacement, and time off work to the fall. Her physician said…
S.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Western Station, Milwaukee, WI
Postal carrier's frostbite recurrence claim sent back for medical review (ECAB 20-0810)
A postal carrier with an accepted frostbite injury developed an ulcer on her left fourth toe and stopped working in February 2019. OWCP denied her claim for a recurrence of disability. Her treating physicians connected the toe condition and inability to work to the earlier frostbite, but the Board…
M.V. and Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Pine Canyon Station, Santa Maria, CA
Forest Service worker's claim returned for medical review (ECAB 19-1040)
A Forest Service forestry technician reported a severe headache and symptoms resembling a past stroke while assigned to a fire. OWCP denied his claim because it found the evidence did not establish the reported work incident. The Board majority relied on his claim form, his supervisor's…
A.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Rocky Mountain VA Medical Center, Aurora, CO
VA nurse's injury notice was timely for continuation of pay (ECAB 22-0580)
A VA nurse reported that she contracted COVID-19 at work on January 6, 2022. She filed her injury claim on February 7, and OWCP denied continuation of pay because it considered the filing later than 30 days after the alleged incident. The Board found that the thirtieth day fell on Saturday…
S.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Colonial Park Post Office, New York, NY
Postal worker's prerecoupment hearing request was late (ECAB 22-0476)
OWCP preliminarily found that a postal worker had received $1,671.21 in excess wage-loss compensation after returning to work for a private employer. The worker disputed the amount and requested a prerecoupment hearing. Her request was dated November 3, 2021, more than 30 days after OWCP's…
M.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, James J. Peters Medical Center, Bronx, NY
VA pharmacy technician's injury notice was timely for continuation of pay (ECAB 22-0467)
A VA pharmacy technician said she was exposed to COVID-19 while delivering medication at work on December 23, 2021. She filed an injury form on January 24, 2022, and OWCP denied continuation of pay because it considered the form late. The Board found that the thirtieth day after the alleged…
C.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hazelwood, MO
Postal worker's reconsideration request returned for an explained decision (ECAB 22-0233)
A postal mail handler claimed that lifting a heavy box at work injured his lower back. OWCP denied his claim for insufficient medical evidence of causation and later summarily denied his request for reconsideration. The Board found that OWCP had not discussed the worker's new statement describing…
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Kearny, NJ
Postal worker's benefits termination upheld after back sprain resolved (ECAB 22-0165)
A postal mail handler received benefits for a lower back sprain sustained in 2004. OWCP ended wage-loss and medical benefits in September 2021 after its orthopedic examiner found no remaining effects of the accepted sprain. The examiner attributed the worker's continuing back symptoms and work…
M.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
Postal carrier's foot condition claim reopened for merits review (ECAB 20-0948)
A rural postal carrier attributed right foot and ankle conditions to years of walking, lifting, and standing at work. OWCP denied her claim for insufficient factual evidence and later refused to reopen it on reconsideration. The Board found that new reports from her doctor described her specific…
C.M. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs-Emergency Firefighters, West-Central Alaska Agency, Anchorage, AK
Fire assignment worker's chest pain claim denied for lack of incident details (ECAB 22-0456)
An Interior Department worker on a fire response assignment reported chest pain after midnight at her hotel. OWCP denied her claim because it lacked a detailed account of how the condition arose in the performance of duty. The Board acknowledged that employees on official travel can be covered…
W.S. and Department of the Army, Anniston Army Depot, Anniston, AL
Army depot hearing loss claim returned for medical causation review (ECAB 22-0372)
An Army depot mechanical parts repairer reported hearing loss after years around machinery and impact tools. OWCP denied his claim, saying he had not sufficiently described the noise exposure. The Board found that both the worker and his supervisor had identified the noise sources, work locations…
M.K. and U.S. Postal Service, NRS Tri-County Post Office, Southeastern, PA
Postal carrier's disability claim lacked medical link to accepted back sprain (ECAB 22-0298)
A postal carrier injured his back moving packages in a truck, and OWCP accepted a lumbar ligament sprain. He later sought wage-loss benefits for time off beginning October 5, 2020. The Board found that his doctors documented pain and other spinal conditions, but did not explain how the accepted…
S.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Bay Station, Brooklyn, NY
Postal carrier's expanded injury claim partly denied and partly remanded (ECAB 21-0574)
A postal carrier tripped over a broken sidewalk while returning from her route, and OWCP accepted hip and back strains. She sought to add further hip and spine conditions to the claim. The Board found that two doctors' explanations were sufficient to require specialist review of a hip tendon tear…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Eureka, CA
Postal worker's suitable work dispute reopened for merits review (ECAB 21-0330)
A postal employee with accepted shoulder conditions received an offer of modified work and later retired. OWCP terminated her wage-loss and schedule award entitlement for refusing suitable work, then declined to reopen the case. The Board found that her representative raised a new, relevant legal…
L.S. and U.S. Post Office, Shippensburg Post Office, Shippensburg, PA
Postal carrier's back injury claim reopened after new medical explanation (ECAB 22-0717)
A rural postal carrier reported back pain after lifting a heavy package from a hamper. OWCP accepted that the lifting occurred but denied her injury claim for lack of medical proof of causation. Her physician later described the lifting motion in more detail and explained how it could have…
K.C. and Federal Judiciary, U.S. Probation & Pretrial Services, Kansas City, MO
Federal Judiciary worker's shoulder claim sent for specialist review (ECAB 22-0466)
A Federal Judiciary support employee reported shoulder pain after moving large storage bins full of paper. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied her right shoulder claim for insufficient proof of medical causation. A later report from her orthopedic surgeon explained how lifting a box…
F.M. and U.S. Postal Service, West Milwaukee Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
Postal carrier's knee disability claim returned for work restriction review (ECAB 22-0346)
A postal carrier returned to limited duty after surgery for an accepted knee injury, then left work on his first day back. He said the available duties exceeded his lifting restriction; the employer said appropriate work was available. OWCP denied his disability claim without establishing the job's…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
Postal carrier's knee incident accepted, medical causation sent back (ECAB 22-0106)
A postal carrier reported hitting his left knee on a delivery vehicle door frame during his route. OWCP doubted the incident because he finished work and reported it the next morning. The Board found that his explanation for the brief delay, prompt medical visit, and consistent account supported…
W.R. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, WA
Shipyard worker's accepted hearing loss did not qualify for schedule award (ECAB 22-0051)
A Navy shipyard worker had accepted hearing loss from years of occupational noise. He sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. Using the required hearing frequencies, the medical adviser calculated average losses of 15 decibels in one ear and 12.5 in the other, both below the 25-decibel…
J.L. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Nogales, AZ
Border officer's wage-loss claim lacked link to accepted thumb and wrist sprains (ECAB 20-0992)
A Customs and Border Protection officer injured his right thumb during defensive tactics training. OWCP accepted thumb and wrist sprains, and he later sought wage-loss compensation for a month in 2012. His doctor's reports discussed a ligament sprain and de Quervain's tenosynovitis, conditions OWCP…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3627 and United States Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings Operations
SSA Office of Hearings Operations and AFGE Local 3627 (FLRA 0-AR-5803): Authority upholds untimely-grievance ruling
AFGE Local 3627 challenged the Social Security Administration's nonselection of two employees for vacancies. The parties extended the deadline for the Union's step-three grievances to February 12, 2021, and the Union emailed them that day. Their agreement provided that an emailed grievance is…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1998 and United States Department of State, Passport Services
Passport Services and NFFE Local 1998 (FLRA 0-AR-5790): Authority upholds mission-critical return to offices
Passport Services designated employees as mission critical and required them to return to offices during the COVID-19 pandemic because specialists could not access secure passport systems remotely. An arbitrator found that the agency and NFFE Local 1998 bargained over the impact and implementation…
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Tahlequah Post Office, Tahlequah, OK
Postal worker's benefits termination reversed over examiner selection (ECAB 22-0492)
A retired postal carrier received benefits for conditions accepted after a 2003 work vehicle accident. OWCP terminated her wage-loss and medical benefits after an impartial examiner said the work-related conditions had resolved. The Board found no documentation that this examiner was board…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Worth, TX
Postal clerk's neck and shoulder claim sent for medical review (ECAB 22-0477)
A postal office automation clerk attributed neck and bilateral shoulder conditions to repetitive lifting, reaching, and turning at work. OWCP denied her claim for insufficient medical proof of causation. Her physician described specific duties and explained how those motions could inflame shoulder…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office Medical Unit, Detroit, MI
Postal nurse's COVID-19 claim lacked timely medical proof (ECAB 22-0417)
A postal occupational health nurse claimed COVID-19 after a reported workplace exposure in March 2020. OWCP accepted the exposure but denied the claim for insufficient medical proof of a related diagnosis. The Board found that a positive antibody test came months later and that the physician…
G.B. and Department of the Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH
Air Force mechanic's knee claim lacked medical explanation of causation (ECAB 22-0269)
An Air Force air conditioning mechanic reported twisting his right knee while stepping down from a ladder. OWCP accepted the incident and the diagnosis of a complex medial meniscus tear, but denied the claim for lack of medical causation evidence. The Board found that his orthopedic surgeon…
K.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Watertown Post Office, Watertown, CT
Postal carrier's carpal tunnel claim lacked medical explanation of work link (ECAB 22-0250)
A retired postal carrier attributed carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands to years of repetitive wrist and hand motions at work. The Board had rejected an earlier appeal, and she submitted another report from her hand surgeon on reconsideration. The doctor said her conditions were very likely due to…
H.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
Postal worker's overlapping retirement and injury payments created overpayment (ECAB 22-0222)
A postal worker elected federal retirement benefits effective August 15, 2021 while FECA wage-loss payments continued through September 11. OWCP calculated $2,980.29 in overlapping benefits and found him without fault. The Board upheld the overpayment because the two benefits cannot be received for…
M.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Portland, ME
Postal worker's emotional condition claim returned to combine related files (ECAB 22-0065)
A postal worker said workplace events and the effects of earlier accepted physical injuries caused depression, anxiety, and stress. OWCP denied the emotional condition claim while referring to those earlier injuries, whose records were held in separate files. The Board found that all three claim…
K.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Chatham Post Office, Chatham, NJ
Postal carrier's disability claim was not reopened on reconsideration (ECAB 21-0628)
A roofing staple gun fell on a postal carrier's head at work, and OWCP accepted a scalp laceration. She later sought wage-loss benefits and argued that the incident also caused cervical symptoms. OWCP denied the disability claim, then refused to reopen it on reconsideration. The Board found her new…
S.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, West Covina, CA
Board remands wage loss modification review for postal clerk (ECAB 21-0622)
A postal clerk with accepted lower back conditions challenged OWCP's reduction of her wage-loss compensation after she did not accept a temporary light-duty assignment. OWCP treated her request as an untimely reconsideration request and summarily denied it. The Board found that her filing sought…
K.H. and Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Garden Valley, ID
Board affirms denial of long distance medical travel reimbursement (ECAB 20-1134)
A Forest Service employee with accepted bilateral wrist fractures sought reimbursement for trips from California to Idaho for medical treatment. OWCP denied the request after finding that she had not shown why travel of about 1,130 miles round trip was reasonable and necessary when closer…
United States Department of the Navy, Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune, Jacksonville, North Carolina and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2065
Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune and AFGE Local 2065 (FLRA 0-AR-5657): Authority upholds bargaining remedy
AFGE Local 2065 challenged the Naval Medical Center's refusal to recognize its chosen bargaining representative and the Center's unilateral ground rules and term agreement. The arbitrator found that the Center failed to bargain in good faith and ordered the parties to return to the prior status…
Secretary of Labor v. County Line Stone Co., Inc., et al.
Settlement vacatur issue accepted for interlocutory review
The Secretary sought approval of settlements involving County Line Stone, Consol Pennsylvania Coal, and Ramaco Resources, with each proposal calling for at least one citation to be vacated. The judge asked the Secretary to confirm that each vacatur was independent of the compromise of other…
R.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Blackwood Post Office, Blackwood, NJ
Board orders new medical review of postal clerk's knee claim (ECAB 22-0307)
A postal window distribution clerk claimed that walking, standing, lifting, bending, and other job duties caused or aggravated her bilateral knee conditions. OWCP relied on an impartial physician's opinion to deny the claim after conflicting medical evidence. The Board found that the physician did…
P.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Key West Post Office, Key West, FL
Board affirms disability denial but reverses benefit termination (ECAB 22-0211)
A postal carrier assistant with an accepted plantar fascial fibromatosis claim sought disability compensation after periods of work and leave. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish that her disability during the claimed period resulted from the accepted condition, so it…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, General Mail Facility, Baton Rouge, LA
Board affirms denial of postal worker's disability claim (ECAB 21-0707)
A mail processing clerk with accepted back and left elbow conditions sought wage-loss compensation for time away from work. His physician placed him off work but attributed the disability to lumbar pain without connecting it to the accepted employment injury. The Board also found that the other…
J.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Medical Center, St. Petersburg, FL
Board remands expansion of medical injury claim for review (ECAB 21-0188)
A VA medical instrument technician who slipped on a wet floor had an accepted lumbar sprain and later sought to add disc, stenosis, and radiculopathy conditions to the claim. OWCP denied expansion and denied related disability compensation. The Board found that the treating physician's reports were…
Matter of Alexandre Ricardo Marcelo FERNANDES
Timely objection to an incomplete notice to appear requires a proper remedy
The Board reviewed a Portuguese respondent’s challenge to a notice to appear that omitted the time and place of the hearing. It held that the time and place requirement is a claim-processing rule, that an objection is generally timely when raised before the close of pleadings, and that a respondent…
D.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Normandy Post Office, St. Louis, MO
Board affirms denial of knee recurrence and surgery requests (ECAB 22-0533)
A postal carrier with an accepted right knee sprain and meniscus tear sought wage-loss compensation after increased knee symptoms and requested surgery. The Board found that his physician did not provide a reasoned opinion connecting the claimed recurrence of disability to the accepted 2015 injury…
E.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Warwick, RI
Board orders new review of PTSD wage loss claim (ECAB 20-1153)
An immigration enforcement employee with an accepted temporary exacerbation of PTSD sought wage-loss compensation after leaving an apprenticeship program. OWCP denied the claim because the medical evidence did not connect the work stoppage beginning July 7, 2018 to the accepted injury. The Board…
Secretary of Labor v. Nevada Ready Mix Corp.
Late contest reopened for excusable neglect
Nevada Ready Mix Corp. failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment within the Mine Act's 30-day deadline, causing the assessment to become a final Commission order. The company said it mistakenly marked the contest form, and counsel directed an assistant to correct it. According to Nevada, the…
Secretary of Labor v. New Point Stone Co., Inc.
Two final assessments reopened after mailing mistake
New Point Stone said it mailed notices contesting two proposed penalty assessments on time but used the wrong address. For LAKE 2022-0071, it said it sent a partial payment with the contest notice to MSHA's penalty-payment address. For LAKE 2022-0072, it said the contest notice went to the wrong…
Secretary of Labor v. Harrison Sand & Gravel Co., Inc.
Misaddressed penalty contests reopened
Harrison Sand & Gravel received two proposed penalty assessments and timely prepared notices contesting part of each assessment. It mistakenly mailed both contest notices with the partial payments to MSHA's payment address instead of sending the notices to the separate contest address. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Callender Construction Company, Inc.
Paid penalties prompted show-cause order
Callender Construction moved to reopen a final penalty assessment to contest three citations, but the record indicated that the associated penalties had already been paid. The Commission's acknowledgment letter used the wrong assessment-control number, and the Secretary's unopposed response…
Secretary of Labor v. Table Rock Asphalt Construction, Inc.
Manager turnover excused missed answer
Table Rock failed to answer the Secretary's penalty petition, causing a show-cause order to become a final default order. The operator said its records and filing responsibilities were disrupted when its safety manager was replaced. Its files contained a copy of an answer, but it could not confirm…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
Board affirms denial of postal carrier's cervical claim (ECAB 22-0710)
A city carrier claimed that carrying a mailbag and parcels and performing repetitive mail work caused or aggravated cervical disc and nerve conditions. Her physician stated that the job duties worsened the conditions but did not explain medically how the duties caused them. Other reports did not…
L.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Des Moines VA Medical Center, Des Moines, IA
Board orders combined review of VA worker's knee claim (ECAB 22-0290)
A VA custodian reported a knee injury after slipping on wet stairs and had an earlier accepted right knee injury in a separate OWCP file. OWCP treated the later filing as a new occupational disease claim, while the record indicated that L.H. may have been seeking treatment or benefits for a…
L.I. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Fayetteville Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Fayetteville, NC
Board reverses termination of VA worker's wage-loss benefits (ECAB 22-0236)
A VA medical clerk had an accepted claim for aggravation of sinusitis and pneumonitis after chemical exposure at work. OWCP terminated his wage-loss benefits based on a second opinion that addressed preexisting allergies and other conditions. The Board found that the physician had not received a…
T.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Health Eligibility Center, Atlanta, GA
Board modifies denial of VA worker's snow fall claim (ECAB 22-0232)
A VA clerk fell at home while walking through snow to clear his truck 45 minutes before his scheduled start time. He claimed that the fall, which injured his right hand and knee, occurred while he was preparing to go to work. The Board found that he was not on agency property, was not performing…
L.R. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Distribution Depot-Red River, Texarkana, TX
Board orders new review of increased schedule award claim (ECAB 22-0096)
A former Defense Logistics Agency laborer sought an increased schedule award for permanent impairment of both upper extremities after prior awards totaling 42 percent on the right and 41 percent on the left. She submitted a new impairment evaluation, but OWCP's hearing representative did not refer…
B.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Punta Gorda Post Office, Punta Gorda, FL
Board reverses suitable work termination for postal carrier (ECAB 21-1404)
A city carrier assistant with an accepted lumbar sprain and annular tear was offered a modified carrier position. OWCP relied on an impartial medical examiner's restrictions to find the position suitable and terminated compensation after B.G. refused it. The Board found an unresolved conflict…
K.R. and General Services Administration, Public Buildings Service, New York, NY
Board reverses overpayment decision pending schedule award review (ECAB 21-1316)
A former General Services Administration engineer had received schedule awards for permanent impairment after a work-related vehicle accident. OWCP later determined that one award had been too high and finalized a $16,307.30 overpayment while the claimant's request for reconsideration of the…
D.C. and Department of the Army, Dugway Proving Grounds, Dugway, UT
Board affirms FECA overpayment and repayment schedule (ECAB 21-0066)
A former Army physical science technician received FECA wage-loss compensation while also receiving the portion of SSA age-related retirement benefits attributable to federal service. The Board agreed that the concurrent payments created a $45,879.34 overpayment from May 1, 2009 through February 1…
P.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Clinton Post Office, Clinton, MA
Board upholds denial of merits reconsideration for ankle surgery claim (ECAB 20-1412)
A letter carrier with an accepted right ankle and foot claim sought authorization for surgery involving an os trigonum. OWCP denied the surgery request, and P.P. later sought reconsideration. The Board found that he submitted reports and an OWCP decision already in the record, rather than new and…
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.