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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
G.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Ashland City Post Office, Ashland City, TN
Board affirms denial of continuation of pay (ECAB 22-0490)
A postal window services employee reported a shoulder injury from March 15, 2021, but filed the injury claim on May 19, 2021. OWCP accepted several conditions but denied continuation of pay because the notice was not filed within the required 30 days. The Board held that the late notice made G.L…
K.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Birmingham, AL
Board affirms denial of postal carrier's assault injury claim (ECAB 22-0489)
A rural carrier reported that a person punched her near the eye while she was delivering mail. OWCP accepted that the employment incident occurred but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not provide a firm diagnosis related to it. The Board found that the medical report described…
L.M. and Department of the Army, Pohakuloa Training Area, Hilo, HI
Board affirms suspension for missing earnings affidavit (ECAB 22-0387)
A former Army motor vehicle operator received ongoing wage-loss compensation for accepted back conditions. OWCP requested a Form CA-1032 reporting employment, earnings, and other relevant activity during the prior 15 months. L.M. did not return the form within 30 days, so OWCP suspended his…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Macomb, MI
Board orders factual development of rural carrier's elbow claim (ECAB 22-0228)
A rural carrier associate claimed that repetitive flexing, gripping, lifting, reaching, pulling, and handling mail caused right tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP denied the occupational disease claim because it found the employment factors were not established. The Board found that OWCP…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Johnstown, PA
Board affirms termination of benefits after hip fracture recovery (ECAB 21-0809)
A city carrier assistant with an accepted right femur fracture returned to modified work and later challenged termination of his wage-loss compensation and medical benefits. OWCP relied on an orthopedic second opinion finding that the fracture had healed and that no residuals required restrictions…
A.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
Board affirms denial of extended shoulder disability compensation (ECAB 21-0421)
A VA human resources assistant with an accepted right arm and shoulder injury sought compensation for intermittent disability over several years. Her physicians provided diagnoses, work restrictions, and statements that she could not work, but the reports did not explain with objective findings why…
M.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Safety Administration, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, NY
Board orders impartial review of airport screener's disability claim (ECAB 20-0822)
An airport security screener injured his left shoulder while moving a checked bag and sought disability compensation after leaving a light-duty assignment. His physicians and OWCP's second opinion physicians disagreed about whether he could perform limited work during the claimed period. The Board…
C.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Broomfield Post Office, Broomfield, CO
Board affirms rescission of accepted cervical condition (ECAB 20-0479)
A rural carrier associate fell down steps at work, and OWCP accepted several injuries before later accepting cervical radiculopathy. OWCP subsequently rescinded that cervical condition based on an impartial physician's review of medical records and examinations. The Board found that the physician…
Secretary of Labor v. County Line Stone Co., Inc., et al.
Premature settlement-review petition denied
The Secretary sought interlocutory review in three cases after the judge questioned settlement proposals that included vacating citations. The judge had asked whether each vacatur was independent of the compromise of other citations, and the Secretary instead sought certification of the legal issue…
Billy R. Cline v. Genesis Coal Corporation and National Union Fire/Chartis
Cline v. Genesis Coal (BRB 21-0493 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Billy Cline sought black lung benefits on a subsequent claim after at least 15 years of underground coal mine work. The administrative law judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, applied the statutory presumption that it was due to pneumoconiosis, and awarded benefits. Genesis Coal…
Allen D. Yates v. Paramont Contura, LLC
Yates v. Paramont Contura (BRB 21-0477 BLA): complicated pneumoconiosis award affirmed
Allen Yates sought black lung benefits after more than 34 years of coal mine work. The administrative law judge found complicated pneumoconiosis based on chest x-rays and CT scans, giving Yates the irrebuttable presumption of total disability due to pneumoconiosis. Paramont Contura challenged how…
Arvil F. Hendricks v. Southern Appalachian Coal Company, self-insured through AEP Kentucky
Hendricks v. Southern Appalachian Coal (BRB 21-0475 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Arvil Hendricks sought black lung benefits on a subsequent claim after fewer than ten years of coal mine work. The administrative law judge found that Hendricks had a totally disabling respiratory impairment significantly related to coal dust exposure and awarded benefits without using the 15-year…
Michael J. Aden v. Monterey Coal Company
Aden v. Monterey Coal (BRB 21-0362 BLA): disability opinion restored for review
Michael Aden sought black lung benefits after 17 years of qualifying coal mine work. The administrative law judge denied his claim after finding that he had not proved a totally disabling respiratory impairment. She had admitted a doctor's supplemental report but later treated it as concerning a…
Wilbert Houdeshell v. Manor Mining & Contracting, Incorporated and Old Republic General Insurance Corporation
Houdeshell v. Manor Mining (BRB 21-0360 BLA): lung disease finding sent back
Wilbert Houdeshell sought black lung benefits after coal mine work and was found to have a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The administrative law judge denied benefits because she did not find clinical or legal pneumoconiosis. A doctor had linked Houdeshell's lung disease to coal dust and…
Maurice Hendricks v. Trapac, LLC
Hendricks v. Trapac (BRB 21-0348): Attorney fee rate returned for further explanation
Maurice Hendricks's lawyer appealed the fee order following a successful Longshore benefits claim. The judge had set his hourly rate at $531, excluded declarations submitted with a reply, and denied travel expenses and time spent on a separate state court settlement. The Board upheld the exclusion…
Betty Mae Osborne, widow of and on behalf of Samuel Osborne, v. Consolidation Coal Company
Osborne v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 21-0310 and 21-0311 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Betty Mae Osborne pursued her late husband Samuel's miner claim and her own survivor claim. The administrative law judge found that Samuel's mine work and disabling respiratory impairment triggered the statutory presumption that he was disabled by pneumoconiosis. Consolidation Coal argued that its…
Betty Mae Osborne, widow of and on behalf of Samuel Osborne, v. Consolidation Coal Company
Osborne v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 21-0310 and 21-0311 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Betty Mae Osborne pursued her late husband Samuel's miner claim and her own survivor claim. The administrative law judge found that Samuel's mine work and disabling respiratory impairment triggered the statutory presumption that he was disabled by pneumoconiosis. Consolidation Coal argued that its…
Mart McKamey v. River Basin Coal Company and Arrowood Indemnity
McKamey v. River Basin Coal (BRB 21-0286 BLA): disease and disability causation sent back
Mart McKamey pursued a subsequent black lung claim after 12.04 years of coal mine work. The parties agreed that he was totally disabled, and the judge found clinical pneumoconiosis, but denied benefits because he found no link between the disease and the disability. On appeal without…
Roger C. Polhamus v. Tunnelton Black Lung Trust and Pennsylvania State Workers' Insurance Fund
Polhamus v. Tunnelton Black Lung Trust (BRB 21-0074 BLA): disability finding sent back
Roger Polhamus sought black lung benefits after 20.2 years of coal mine work, including at least 15 qualifying years. The administrative law judge denied the claim after finding that Polhamus had not proved a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board found errors in the judge's evaluation…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Jefferson Park Carrier Annex, Chicago, IL
Board dismisses late appeal of postal carrier's compensation decision (ECAB 22-1110)
A.R. appealed a June 30, 2021 OWCP decision concerning a federal workers' compensation claim. The appeal reached the Board on July 11, 2022, more than 180 days after OWCP issued its decision. The Board found the appeal untimely and said A.R. had not supplied supporting documentation showing…
B.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
Board dismisses late appeal from B.T. (ECAB 22-1108)
B.T. appealed OWCP's October 15, 2021 workers' compensation decision. The 180-day Board filing deadline was April 13, 2022, but the appeal was filed on July 7, 2022. The Board found no documented compelling circumstances to excuse the late filing. It dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction…
S.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, Aurora, CO
Board dismisses late appeal from S.M. (ECAB 22-1095)
S.M. appealed OWCP's September 21, 2021 workers' compensation decision. The 180-day Board filing deadline was March 20, 2022, but the appeal was filed on July 15, 2022. The Board found no documented compelling circumstances to excuse the late filing. It dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction…
A.C. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Dallas, TX
Board dismisses late appeal from A.C. (ECAB 22-1081)
A.C. appealed OWCP's January 12, 2022 workers' compensation decision. The 180-day Board filing deadline was July 11, 2022, but the appeal was filed on July 14, 2022. The Board found no documented compelling circumstances to excuse the late filing. It dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction…
T.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charlotte, NC
Board dismisses late appeal from T.J. (ECAB 22-1062)
T.J. appealed OWCP's December 22, 2021 workers' compensation decision. The 180-day Board filing deadline was June 20, 2022, but the appeal was filed on July 5, 2022. The Board found no documented compelling circumstances to excuse the late filing. It dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction…
S.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC
Board dismisses late appeal from S.C. (ECAB 22-1037)
S.C. appealed OWCP's September 21, 2021 workers' compensation decision. The 180-day Board filing deadline was March 20, 2022, but the appeal was filed on June 27, 2022. The Board found no documented compelling circumstances to excuse the late filing. It dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction…
T.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bedford Park, IL
Board upholds denial of wage loss claim after postal worker's back injury (ECAB 22-0465)
A postal mail handler injured her lower back while lifting a tray, and OWCP accepted a lumbar strain. She later sought wage loss benefits for time away from work beginning in October 2021. The Board found that her surgeon's reports did not explain how the accepted injury prevented her from doing…
M.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Medford, NJ
Board restores postal worker's right to overpayment hearing (ECAB 22-0437)
OWCP notified a retired postal carrier that she had received an alleged $18,310.62 overpayment because her Social Security retirement benefits were not offset against compensation. She requested a hearing about the proposed recovery, but OWCP denied the request as late. The Board found that the…
K.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bedford Park, IL
Board orders more fact finding on carrier's ice fall (ECAB 22-0425)
A postal carrier reported spraining her ankle after slipping on icy stairs while delivering mail at 5:58 p.m. OWCP denied her claim because the fall happened after her stated regular work hours, even though her supervisor had acknowledged that she was injured while working. The Board found that…
J.R. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, San Deigo, CA
Board grants withdrawal of customs employee's appeal (ECAB 22-0424)
J.R. filed a timely appeal from OWCP's January 7, 2022 decision. In May 2022, J.R. asked to withdraw the appeal. The Board granted that request and dismissed the appeal. It did not decide the underlying compensation claim.
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
Board upholds abandoned hearing finding for postal clerk (ECAB 22-0362)
A postal distribution clerk sought a hearing after OWCP denied her claim for a finger injury. OWCP mailed notice of an August 11, 2021 telephone hearing to her address of record, but she did not call in. She also did not request postponement or explain her absence within 10 days. The Board found…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Cardiss Collins Post Office, Chicago, IL
Board upholds denial of carrier's back injury claim (ECAB 22-0220)
A postal delivery specialist reported back pain after delivering heavy packages. OWCP accepted that the December 4, 2020 work incident occurred but denied the injury claim for insufficient medical evidence. The Board found that the doctors' reports identified low back pain without a compensable…
K.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Eastport Post Office, Annapolis, MD
Board orders further medical review of carrier's shoulder claim (ECAB 22-0210)
A postal carrier reported neck and shoulder problems after carrying mail, but OWCP denied her injury claim. Her physician described a possible mechanism connecting a heavy mail satchel to the diagnosed cervical disc and shoulder conditions. The Board found that his explanation did not yet prove the…
R.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Waltham Carrier Annex, Waltham, MA
Board upholds 20 percent left eye impairment rating (ECAB 22-0197)
A letter carrier previously received a schedule award for permanent left eye impairment after complications of an accepted injury. The Board had returned the case to OWCP to clarify the left eye rating. On remand, the medical adviser assigned 20 percent impairment using the single eye visual acuity…
C.M. and Department of the Army, Installation Management Command, Fort Carson, CO
Board dismisses Army employee's appeal and late reconsideration petition (ECAB 22-0145)
C.M. sought Board review of what she described as an October 5, 2021 OWCP decision. The only decision dated October 5 in the record was the Board's own earlier ruling in docket 20-1647, so the Board had no OWCP decision it could review in the new appeal. It also considered whether her filing was a…
B.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Charleston, SC
Board reverses postal worker's Social Security offset overpayment (ECAB 22-0042)
OWCP asserted that a postal worker had received a $42,673.51 overpayment because her FECA benefits were not reduced for a portion of Social Security retirement payments tied to federal service. The Board found that the calculation relied on a form used for employees in the Federal Employees…
Z.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Grayson Post Office, Grayson, KY
Board confirms overpayment but orders amount recalculated (ECAB 22-0028)
A postal carrier received both FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits without the required federal service offset. The Board agreed that an overpayment occurred, but found two Social Security calculations with differing figures and worksheets covering different periods…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Harper Station Post Office, Detroit, MI
Board orders review of postal clerk's partial disability claim (ECAB 22-0001)
A postal clerk sought wage loss benefits for intermittent absences and reduced hours after a workplace back injury. OWCP rejected his claim for total disability on the disputed dates. The Board agreed that the medical reports did not sufficiently establish total disability for specific dates. It…
R.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Air Marshal Service, Sunrise, FL
Board denies expanded hip claim and disability benefits for air marshal (ECAB 21-1189)
A federal air marshal injured his back and right hip during defensive training, and OWCP accepted lumbar and hip strains. He sought acceptance of additional hip conditions and wage loss benefits for a later period away from work. The Board found that his doctors' reports did not adequately explain…
K.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Albuquerque Processing & Distribution Center, Albuquerque, NM
Board orders postal worker's back injury files combined (ECAB 21-0068)
A postal processing clerk claimed a lumbar disc condition from work activity dating to 2013. OWCP denied the claim and later refused to reconsider it. The Board found that OWCP had already accepted a separate 2016 neck and low back injury, but had not combined that file with the current claims…
R.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
Board upholds end of medical benefits for accepted back strain (ECAB 20-1623)
A VA motor vehicle operator had an accepted low back strain after helping move a patient in a wheelchair. OWCP later ended medical benefits for that condition. The Board gave the greatest weight to a second opinion physician's examination and scan review finding no remaining effects of the accepted…
T.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Houston, TX
Board upholds postal worker's overpayment and recovery schedule (ECAB 20-1257)
A postal clerk received FECA wage loss benefits while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service. OWCP determined that the missing offset caused an $11,419.63 overpayment. The Board confirmed the calculation and found that she had not provided enough…
R.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Processing Service Center, Hyattsville, MD
Board upholds benefit suspension and abandoned hearing finding (ECAB 20-0933)
A FEMA employee had an accepted back and ankle injury, and OWCP scheduled an impartial examination to assess continuing disability and treatment. The Board found that OWCP mailed notice of the examination and later offered her 14 days to explain her failure to attend, but she provided no timely…
N.B. and District of Columbia Superior Court, Washington, DC
Board accepts shoulder contusion but rejects additional conditions (ECAB 20-0794)
A court clerk slipped on a wet floor at work and injured her right shoulder. A doctor examined her that day and diagnosed a visible shoulder contusion, which the Board found sufficient to establish that part of the claim. The Board found the reports about additional conditions, including tendinitis…
Matter of Ubaldo ORTEGA-QUEZADA
Firearm-disposition conviction was overbroad for removability
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent’s challenge to removability based on a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(d) for unlawfully selling or otherwise disposing of a firearm or ammunition. It held that the federal statute was categorically overbroad and indivisible compared with the firearms…
Roy Kinder v. Jamie Marcus Coal Company, Incorporated and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
Kinder v. Jamie Marcus Coal (BRB 21-0443 BLA): benefits upheld with later start date
Roy Kinder sought black lung benefits after 24 years of coal mine work. The administrative law judge found complicated pneumoconiosis and awarded benefits beginning in September 2015, when Kinder filed his claim. The employer challenged only the start date. The Board held that an October 2015 x-ray…
Bruce D. Smith v. Buffalo Mining Company
Smith v. Buffalo Mining (BRB 21-0375 BLA): complicated pneumoconiosis award affirmed
Bruce Smith pursued a subsequent black lung claim after at least 12 years of qualifying coal mine work. The administrative law judge found complicated pneumoconiosis based on the x-ray readings and medical opinions and awarded benefits. Buffalo Mining challenged how the judge weighed conflicting…
Teresa Lilly, on behalf of Virgil R. Lilly, v. Ranger Fuel Corporation
Lilly v. Ranger Fuel (BRB 21-0324 BLA): employer's modification request returned for review
Virgil Lilly was awarded black lung benefits, and the Board affirmed that award in an earlier appeal. Ranger Fuel later asked to modify the award based on additional evidence and an alleged factual mistake. A judge denied modification after excluding new x-ray readings and concluding that the…
K.W. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Riley, KS
Board orders new finger impairment assessment for Army worker (ECAB 22-0320)
An Army Corps of Engineers worker underwent amputation and later revision surgery after a left middle finger injury. He sought a schedule award greater than the 50 percent impairment previously recognized. The Board found that the second opinion examiner had not provided the sensory testing or…
T.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Atlanta Processing & Distribution Center, Atlanta, GA
Board dismisses late appeal from Atlanta postal worker (ECAB 22-0251)
T.J. appealed an April 19, 2021 OWCP decision. The Board calculated the 180th day for filing an appeal as October 16, 2021, but the appeal was filed on December 3, 2021. It found no documented compelling circumstances excusing the delay and dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The…
R.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Audie Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital, San Antonio, TX
Board requires OWCP to consider VA worker's medical report (ECAB 22-0204)
A VA supply worker reported a back injury after stopping suddenly while moving a hospital bed. OWCP denied the claim, saying the record lacked a medical diagnosis from a qualified physician. The Board found that a family practitioner's report diagnosing a lumbar sprain had been submitted before the…
J.R. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville, FL
Board reverses benefit suspension after misaddressed examination notice (ECAB 22-0049)
OWCP suspended an Army Corps of Engineers worker's benefits after he missed a medical examination it scheduled. The Board found that OWCP's referral letter had the wrong apartment number and was not mailed to his address of record. Because OWCP had not properly notified him of the appointment, it…
G.H. and U.S. Postal Service, South Suburban Vehicle Maintenance Facility, Bedford Park, IL
Board grants remand to combine postal worker's injury files (ECAB 21-1277)
A postal worker with several accepted injury claims sought coverage for additional conditions following a 2016 fall. OWCP denied the consequential injury claim after medical opinions disagreed. The OWCP Director asked the Board to send the case back because related files involving the same body…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Warrendale, PA
Board reverses postal worker's benefit termination over job offer (ECAB 20-0123)
A postal mail handler with an accepted shoulder injury declined a modified mail handler position, and OWCP ended her compensation under the suitable work rule. The Board found that the impartial examiner's restrictions addressed her left shoulder but not other diagnosed conditions and medication…
Juanita G. Kenneda, widow of and on behalf of Gregory O. Kenneda, v. Island Creek Coal Company
Kenneda v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 21-0296 and 21-0480 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Juanita Kenneda pursued her late husband Gregory's miner claim and her own survivor claim. A judge found that Gregory had complicated pneumoconiosis arising from coal mine work and awarded miner benefits; a second judge awarded Juanita derivative survivor benefits. Island Creek Coal challenged the…
Robert Tower v. Total Terminals International
Tower v. Total Terminals (BRB 21-0319): hearing loss compensation remanded
Robert Tower reported hearing loss and tinnitus after working around noisy equipment at the Port of Seattle. His employer paid for measurable loss in one ear, and a judge rejected his request for additional compensation tied to tinnitus. A two-judge Board majority held that the applicable edition…
Juanita G. Kenneda, widow of and on behalf of Gregory O. Kenneda, v. Island Creek Coal Company
Kenneda v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 21-0296 and 21-0480 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Juanita Kenneda pursued her late husband Gregory's miner claim and her own survivor claim. A judge found that Gregory had complicated pneumoconiosis arising from coal mine work and awarded miner benefits; a second judge awarded Juanita derivative survivor benefits. Island Creek Coal challenged the…
Velma J. Benson v. Air Force Central Welfare Fund, Travis AFB
Benson v. Air Force Central Welfare Fund (BRB 21-0214): Settlement order corrected to cover medical benefits only
Velma Benson and the Air Force Central Welfare Fund settled her medical benefit claims after workplace injuries. Their agreement provided $24,000 for past and future medical benefits and expressly excluded disability benefits. The judge approved the agreement but described it in one paragraph as…
Louis Peña Garcia v. Calzadilla Construction Corporation
Peña Garcia v. Calzadilla (BRB 21-0063): medical cannabis reimbursement denied
Louis Peña Garcia had a permanent disability from a work-related back injury and sought reimbursement for cannabis infused edibles recommended by a physician in Puerto Rico. An administrative law judge denied the request because marijuana was classified as a Schedule I controlled substance under…
William Price v. Department of the Air Force
Price v. Department of the Air Force (BRB 20-0276): Temporary disability award increased
William Price sought benefits under the Longshore Act extension for nonappropriated fund employees after a work related shoulder injury while working for the Air Force. The judge awarded temporary partial disability for a short period and denied benefits after March 18, 1997. The Board agreed that…
McCurry v. Kenco Logistic Services, LLC
Disability-benefit retaliation claim denied
Edith McCurry alleged that Kenco retaliated for her support of a former coworker's Food Safety Modernization Act case by temporarily terminating her long-term disability benefits. Hartford, an outside company, administered the disability plan and made the benefit decisions more than two years after…
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.