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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J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, East Naples Carrier Annex Post Office, Naples, FL
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal carrier’s wrist injury claim (ECAB 21-1191)
A postal carrier sought to reopen a decision that rejected her claimed right wrist injury following a workplace confrontation. OWCP had separately accepted anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder associated with the incident. Her reconsideration request included evidence about a foot condition…
Ralph Blackburn v. Consolidation Coal Company
Blackburn v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 21-0518 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Ralph Blackburn sought benefits on a subsequent black lung claim after 32 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. Consolidation Coal…
Donald Seiber v. Consolidation Coal Company
Seiber v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 21-0365 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Donald Seiber sought benefits on a subsequent black lung claim after 17 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. Consolidation Coal…
David S. Williams v. Milburn Colliery Company
Williams v. Milburn Colliery (BRB 21-0160 BLA): modified black lung claim award affirmed
David Williams sought benefits on a subsequent claim after more than 19 years of underground coal mine work. On modification, the administrative law judge found a totally disabling impairment, applied the statutory presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis, and awarded benefits. Milburn…
John L. Bland v. Martinka Coal Company and Peabody Energy Corporation
Bland v. Martinka Coal (BRB 20-0231 BLA): benefits affirmed, carrier issue remanded
John Bland sought black lung benefits after at least 15 years of qualifying coal mine work. The administrative law judge applied the statutory presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis and awarded benefits, but did not adequately address whether Peabody Energy was responsible for payment…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Division, USDOL v. Kesco, Incorporated
Administrator, Wage and Hour Division v. Kesco, Incorporated (DOL ARB 2022-0031): wage-rate petition dismissed as premature
Kesco requested conformed Davis-Bacon wage rates of $15 per hour with no fringe benefits for four flooring classifications on a Florida contract. A Wage and Hour Division section chief instead approved $25 per hour plus $1.17 in fringe benefits. Kesco petitioned the Board, but the letter it…
T.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Peabody, MA
Board remands postal carrier’s hip arthritis claim for clearer medical opinion (ECAB 22-0334)
A postal letter carrier sought to expand his accepted claim to cover a permanent aggravation of arthritis in both hips. OWCP relied on an impartial medical examiner who attributed the condition to an inherited factor. The Board found that the examiner did not explain why that factor, rather than…
C.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Graham Post Office, Graham, TX
Board dismisses appeal without a final OWCP decision (ECAB 22-0332)
A postal worker appealed what was described as a December 11, 2021 OWCP decision. The record sent to the Board did not contain a final adverse OWCP decision from within 180 days before the appeal. Without such a decision, the Board lacked jurisdiction. It dismissed the appeal without reaching the…
C.R. and Department of Agriculture, APHIS Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO
Board reverses overpayment but upholds benefits suspension (ECAB 21-1354)
A retired federal wildlife biologist received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits. OWCP calculated a $79,923.89 overpayment using an offset for Federal Employees Retirement System service. The Board found that the personnel records identified a different retirement…
N.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Westbury Post Office, Westbury, NY
Board reverses postal carrier’s benefit termination over disputed job suitability (ECAB 21-1134)
A postal letter carrier received benefits for an accepted back condition. OWCP ended wage-loss compensation and schedule award entitlement after she declined a modified job offer. Its referral physician found the job within her restrictions, while treating physicians said she could not perform it…
L.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Staten Island Station, Staten Island, NY
Board remands postal driver’s injury claim for review of omitted medical reports (ECAB 21-0535)
A postal letter carrier reported neck and back injuries after another vehicle struck her stopped mail truck. OWCP accepted a cervical sprain but declined to add other spine conditions and denied wage-loss claims. Before that decision, her physician submitted reports discussing the collision, prior…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jacksonville, FL
Board upholds denial of postal mail handler’s knee and back claim (ECAB 22-0586)
A postal mail handler reported bilateral knee arthritis and a lumbar condition after years of moving mail. OWCP accepted the described work factors but denied the claim for lack of medical causation evidence. The Board found that a doctor’s checked box did not explain how the duties caused or…
G.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Libby, MT
Board upholds Social Security offset overpayment and repayment (ECAB 22-0408)
A rural postal carrier received FECA wage-loss compensation along with Social Security retirement benefits attributable in part to federal service. OWCP calculated a $56,132.89 overpayment from the uncredited federal service portion. The Board upheld the calculation and found that his Thrift…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Seminole Processing & Distribution Center, Orlando, FL
Board upholds refusal to reopen mail handler’s shoulder claim (ECAB 22-0371)
A postal mail handler claimed neck and shoulder problems from repeatedly lifting heavy mail. After OWCP denied the claim, she sought reconsideration with a later medical report. The Board found that the report identified conditions but did not explain their connection to her accepted work factors…
F.K. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Jeffersonville, IN
Board upholds denial of increased schedule award for adult dependent (ECAB 22-0175)
A Census Bureau statistical clerk received a schedule award after an accepted carpal tunnel claim. She sought a higher compensation rate based on her adult son as a dependent. OWCP asked for evidence that he could not support himself because of a physical or mental disability, but she submitted no…
W.H. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia Beach, VA
Board upholds Navy firefighter’s retirement offset overpayment (ECAB 21-0490)
A Navy firefighter received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable partly to federal service. OWCP calculated a $12,132.19 overpayment from the concurrent benefits. The Board upheld the amount. Although he was not at fault, he did not provide the requested…
B.P. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Florence, CO
Board upholds denial of added back conditions after prison worker’s hip injury (ECAB 20-0820)
A federal prison education specialist hurt her hip while running to an institutional emergency. She asked OWCP to add back and other conditions to her accepted injury claim. A referral physician reviewed her history and imaging and found no objective support linking the additional back conditions…
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Waterford Post Office, Waterford, CT
Board upholds denial of schedule award for postal driver’s leg (ECAB 22-0239)
A rural postal carrier suffered several injuries when his work vehicle struck a tree. He sought a schedule award for permanent impairment of his right leg. Earlier doctors gave conflicting or incomplete ratings. A later second opinion and a district medical adviser found no ratable impairment from…
L.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Troy Bowling Campus, Veterans Medical Center, Lexington, KY
Board orders further review of VA nurse’s right shoulder claim (ECAB 22-0039)
A VA nurse attributed a right shoulder condition to filing, copying, telephone use, and keyboard work in a limited-duty assignment. OWCP denied the claim. Her physician repeatedly explained how those duties could contribute to a rotator cuff tear and shoulder arthritis. The Board found that the…
K.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lansdowne, PA
Board upholds termination of postal carrier’s elbow injury benefits (ECAB 22-0019)
A postal carrier injured his left elbow while moving a mail hamper. OWCP later ended wage-loss compensation and medical benefits based on a second opinion that the accepted elbow conditions had resolved. The Board found that OWCP had met its burden to terminate benefits as of November 8, 2020. It…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Melville, NY
Board upholds denial of postal driver’s workplace stress claim (ECAB 21-0283)
A postal tractor-trailer operator attributed anxiety to disputes with a supervisor about light duty, discipline, overtime, and other workplace matters. OWCP denied the claim. The Board found that the alleged events involved personnel actions rather than his regular duties, and the record did not…
J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Doylestown, PA
Board finds postal carrier’s fall occurred at work and remands injury claim (ECAB 20-0713)
A postal carrier reported falling after stepping into a hole or depression in a lawn on his route. OWCP questioned whether the incident occurred and denied his claim. The Board found his account consistent and saw no discrepancy serious enough to defeat it. Because OWCP had not evaluated whether…
S.J., claiming as widow of B.J., and Department of Agriculture, Inspections Operations Program, Minneapolis, MN
Board remands widow’s survivor benefits claim for employer response (ECAB 22-0507)
The widow of an Agriculture Department employee claimed that work-related stress contributed to her wife’s death from coronary disease. OWCP asked the employer to address the alleged work factors, but its letter was returned as undeliverable and was not resent to a valid address. The Board found…
M.S. and Department of the Interior, Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Basom, NY
Board upholds refusal to reopen wildlife refuge worker’s elbow claim (ECAB 22-0363)
A wildlife refuge laborer attributed a left elbow condition to strenuous maintenance work. After OWCP denied his occupational disease claim, he sought reconsideration and resubmitted a doctor’s earlier report. The Board found that the repeated report added no relevant new evidence or argument. It…
D.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Antonio, TX
Board upholds denial of continuation of pay and late hearing request (ECAB 22-0361)
A postal employee reported injuries from a vehicle accident at work. She filed the written injury claim more than 30 days after the accident, so the Board upheld denial of continuation of pay. She also requested an oral hearing more than 30 days after OWCP’s decision. The Board found that OWCP…
S.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburg, PA
Board upholds denial of postal carrier’s hernia claim and reconsideration (ECAB 22-0338)
A rural postal carrier attributed an umbilical hernia to lifting heavy packages at work. The Board found that the medical record did not adequately establish a causal link between those duties and the hernia. It also found that her reconsideration submission did not meet the requirements for…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Clayton Branch Post Office, Clayton, MO
Board remands postal carrier’s shoulder claim for corrected medical history (ECAB 21-1014)
A postal letter carrier sought to add a right shoulder tear and related condition to a claim from a vehicle accident. OWCP referred her for another medical opinion after finding a conflict between physicians. The Board found that the medical adviser and examining physician did not use the accepted…
D.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Stillwater, NY
Board remands postal carrier’s upper extremity impairment award (ECAB 21-0525)
A rural postal carrier received a schedule award after injuries to his right hand and wrist during a dog bite incident. He sought a higher permanent impairment rating. A medical adviser reviewed more than one injury file, but a second opinion examiner had reviewed only one of them. The Board found…
R.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Manhattan Vehicle Maintenance Facility, New York, NY
Board dismisses appeal without a recent final OWCP decision (ECAB 22-0354)
A postal vehicle maintenance employee appealed a purported January 4, 2022 OWCP decision. The record sent to the Board contained neither that decision nor another final adverse decision issued within 180 days before the appeal. The Board could not exercise jurisdiction and dismissed the appeal.
M.R. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Hilliard, FL
Board reverses denial after timely written-review request (ECAB 22-0321)
An air traffic controller filed a claim after a heart attack during a busy work session. OWCP denied the claim on August 27, 2021 and rejected her request for written-record review as late on October 19. The Board found that the request was dated within the 30-day period and OWCP had no postmark or…
C.C. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Las Vegas, NV
Board upholds denial of FBI investigator’s back injury claim (ECAB 22-0198)
An FBI criminal investigator reported back pain while sprinting and exercising for a physical fitness test. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim for lack of medical causation evidence. The Board found that physicians described diagnoses and the incident without explaining…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Clayton, MO
Board remands ankle impairment claim and reverses overpayment (ECAB 21-1124)
A postal letter carrier sought more than a 13 percent left leg schedule award after accepted ankle conditions. OWCP also found a $32,333.74 overpayment tied to the earlier award. The Board found the medical opinion on impairment insufficiently explained and ordered further development. With the…
S.D. and General Services Administration, Kansas City, MO
Board upholds denial of wage-loss periods for GSA analyst (ECAB 21-1047)
A GSA program analyst received an accepted claim involving carpal tunnel symptoms after computer work. She sought compensation for two extended periods away from work. The Board found that work status notes stated she could not work but did not explain how the accepted condition caused disability…
M.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Edendale Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
Board reverses postal carrier’s $159,363.88 overpayment finding (ECAB 21-0410)
A postal carrier elected Office of Personnel Management retirement benefits retroactive to April 2014. OWCP treated the election as proof that she had received retirement pay while also receiving FECA compensation and charged a $159,363.88 overpayment. The Board found no evidence that she actually…
E.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Detroit, MI
Board upholds denial of schedule award after postal worker’s knee injury (ECAB 21-0118)
A postal training technician injured her left knee in a workplace fall. She sought a schedule award using an impairment rating based on a later total knee replacement. OWCP had not accepted that replacement as related to the work injury. The Board found that the rating therefore did not establish…
C.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Orlando, FL
Board upholds denial of intermittent disability compensation (ECAB 20-0520)
A postal mail handler had accepted neck and shoulder conditions and later sought wage-loss compensation for intermittent absences. Her physician described flare-ups and several diagnoses, but did not identify objective changes in the accepted conditions or adequately explain why they caused each…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Yazoo City, Mississippi and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1013, Council of Prison Locals 33
FCC Yazoo City and AFGE Local 1013 (FLRA 0-AR-5773): Authority sets aside bargaining and uniform remedies
Federal Correctional Complex Yazoo City temporarily assigned non-custody employees to posts usually staffed by uniformed custody employees. An arbitrator found that a memorandum changed the non-custody employees' dress rules without bargaining and that the employees were entitled to uniform…
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Franklin Lodge No. 2135 and United States Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Bureau of Engraving and Printing and IAM Lodge 2135 (FLRA 0-AR-5763): Authority upholds cleanup-time ruling
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing gave mission-critical production employees weather-and-safety leave at the ends of their shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Union argued that the employees also had to receive separate paid cleanup time under the contract and shop policies. An arbitrator…
D.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
Board remands postal carrier’s reconsideration request for explanation (ECAB 21-1229)
A postal letter carrier sought reconsideration of a decision concerning benefits after injuries from a fall on ice. OWCP summarily denied the request as untimely and insufficient to show clear error. The Board found that OWCP did not address her arguments or the evidence she submitted. It sent the…
E.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Church Street Post Office, New York, NY
Board upholds denial of mail handler’s late reconsideration request (ECAB 21-1071)
A postal mail handler sought reconsideration of an earlier decision on his accepted injury claim after the one-year deadline. He said he had not received the earlier decision. The Board applied the presumption that a properly addressed and mailed decision was received and found no adequate contrary…
E.L. and Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Corona, CA
Board remands firefighter’s smoke exposure claim for causation review (ECAB 21-0587)
A Forest Service firefighter reported chest pain and dizziness after hiking to an assignment and working with smoldering material. OWCP denied the claim. The Board identified physician diagnoses of smoke inhalation and bradycardia in the medical record. It sent the case back because OWCP still…
G.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Orlando VA Medical Center, Orlando, FL
Board upholds denial of added conditions and disability after VA worker’s fall (ECAB 21-0176)
A VA claims examiner fell at work and sought to add further spine and other conditions to her accepted injury claim. She also sought wage-loss compensation from November 2014 through May 2016. The Board found that the physicians did not adequately explain how the incident caused the additional…
R.M. and Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, Warwick, RI
Board upholds forfeiture and overpayment but rejects repayment rate (ECAB 19-1508)
A former DEA investigator received FECA compensation while engaging in work activity that he did not report on required forms. The Board upheld forfeiture for May 2009 through July 2013 and the resulting $351,057.54 overpayment. It also upheld the finding that he was at fault, which barred waiver…
Baldonick Fernandez v. SAP America, Inc.
Reconsideration of briefing dismissal denied
An ALJ dismissed Baldonick Fernandez's H-1B case after he failed to appear and pursue his hearing request. Fernandez appealed, but the Board dismissed that appeal when he did not file an opening brief or respond to its show-cause order. He then submitted a letter seeking reconsideration and…
C.K. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Rosemont, IL
Board upholds maximum medical improvement dates for TSA officer (ECAB 20-0680)
A TSA supervisory officer received a schedule award after accepted shoulder and knee injuries. She disputed the dates when her conditions reached maximum medical improvement. The Board found that the medical evidence supported August 7, 2017 for the left upper extremity and March 7, 2018 for the…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pendleton, OR
Board remands neck claim to combine related shoulder injury files (ECAB 22-0333)
A postal worker claimed a neck condition and attributed part of it to compensating for an earlier accepted right shoulder injury and surgery. OWCP denied the neck claim. The Board found that a physician linked the current condition to the earlier shoulder claim, making cross-reference between the…
D.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Atlanta VA Medical Center, Decatur, GA
Board remands VA worker’s COVID test injury claim for reasoned decision (ECAB 22-0329)
A VA medical center employee reported nasal and ear symptoms after a COVID-19 test taken for work. OWCP denied the claim because it saw no positive COVID-19 result. The Board found that this missed her claim of injury from the test itself and did not address the submitted medical evidence. It sent…
S.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
Board upholds denial of postal carrier’s back injury claim (ECAB 22-0296)
A postal delivery employee reported back pain after overreaching in a twisted position to place mail in a secure box. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. The Board found that medical reports named back conditions and repeated his account but did not explain how the motion caused the…
D.M. and Department of the Army, Directorate of Emergency Services, Fort Myer, VA
Board orders merit review of Army officer’s ankle injury claim (ECAB 22-0275)
An Army security officer reported twisting his ankle while leaving a police vehicle. OWCP denied the injury claim and later rejected his reconsideration request as untimely. The Board agreed that the request missed the one-year deadline. But later physician reports documented ankle and foot…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Burbank Post Office, Burbank, CA
Board upholds termination after postal clerk refused suitable work (ECAB 22-0174)
A postal clerk received benefits after injuring her foot, back, and shoulder in a fall at work. The Postal Service offered a sedentary modified clerical job, and OWCP found it within her medically supported restrictions. The Board found that the job was suitable from both a medical and vocational…
A.D. and U.S. Postal Service, West Allis Post Office, West Allis, WI
Board remands postal worker’s foot disability claim for combined files (ECAB 22-0147)
A postal carrier technician injured her left foot when a pallet jack struck it at work. She later sought disability compensation, and OWCP denied recurrence. The Board found that she had another injury claim involving the same foot and that correct adjudication required the files to be reviewed…
B.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Manhasset Post Office, Manhasset, NY
Board reverses denial of postal carrier’s shoulder and elbow surgery (ECAB 22-0041)
A postal letter carrier sought authorization for left shoulder and elbow procedures after a work-related fall. Her physician explained why the diagnosed conditions and requested surgeries were linked to the accepted injury. OWCP had authorized related surgery before, and the record contained no…
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boston, MA
Board upholds denial of postal clerk’s back-related schedule award (ECAB 21-1332)
A retired postal clerk sought a schedule award after a longstanding accepted lower back injury. The medical record did not show ratable permanent impairment in either leg from that injury. The Board noted that FECA does not provide a schedule award for the back or the body as a whole. It affirmed…
L.L. and Department of the Army, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY
Board upholds denial of added conditions and wage loss after Army worker’s fall (ECAB 21-0981)
An Army dental hygienist fell at work after her chair rolled away. She sought to add further conditions to the accepted injury claim and obtain wage-loss compensation for two weeks in March 2020. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately connect the added conditions or the…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1998 and United States Department of State, Passport Services
Passport Services and NFFE Local 1998 (FLRA 0-AR-5766): Authority dismisses removal exceptions
Passport Services removed a passport specialist after the employee failed to achieve acceptable performance during a performance improvement plan. An arbitrator found problems in the agency's administration of the plan but upheld the removal. NFFE Local 1998 filed exceptions and argued that its…
Matter of E-F-N-
Impeachment evidence supported adverse credibility finding
The Board reviewed a Cameroonian respondent's appeal from the denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture protection. The Immigration Judge found the respondent not credible based on inconsistencies in his testimony and written statements, similarities between…
National Treasury Employees Union and Federal Communications Commission
FCC and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-5731, 0-AR-5780): Authority upholds impasse and agreement-execution awards
NTEU and the Federal Communications Commission disputed whether their contract talks had reached impasse and whether the Union had to execute the resulting agreement. One arbitrator found a genuine impasse after reviewing the parties' negotiations and rejected the Union's claim that the FCC…
Alleen Slone, on behalf of and widow of James Slone v. National Mines Corporation
Slone v. National Mines (BRB 21-0181 and 21-0182 BLA): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Alleen Slone pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. The judge found that James Slone was totally disabled by legal pneumoconiosis arising from coal mine work and awarded benefits on his claim. The Board rejected the employer's challenges to the judge's authority and…
Alleen Slone, on behalf of and widow of James Slone v. National Mines Corporation
Slone v. National Mines (BRB 21-0181 and 21-0182 BLA): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Alleen Slone pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. The judge found that James Slone was totally disabled by legal pneumoconiosis arising from coal mine work and awarded benefits on his claim. The Board rejected the employer's challenges to the judge's authority and…
Virginia D. Smith v. Heritage Coal Company and Peabody Energy Corporation
Smith v. Heritage Coal (BRB 20-0147 and 20-0148 BLA): employment calculation remanded
Virginia Smith pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. The judge awarded both after finding at least fifteen years of qualifying coal mine work and applying a presumption that the miner's total disability was due to pneumoconiosis. A Board majority held that the…
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.